Seven Days Survivor: The Journey
by Jon-Berry
Summary: The Tokyo Lockdown is over for Midori Komaki, but when she is moved to Tatami Port Island to continue her education, she didn't expect to be called up to save the world again. (off site discussion, plus previews on Space Battles dot com - Creative Writing - Seven Days Survivor (you may have to go digging). )
1. 01 Sept 2009 to 05 Sept 2009

**01 September**

**Minatodai Dormitory, 1st Floor Lounge**

**Evening**

Junpei kicked his feet up, lounging on the sofa. With his nose firmly planted in a magazine spelling out the latest something or other, he waited impatiently for someone else to return to the Dorm. And thinking if [i]she[/i] was busy sketching on the bench again. While he wanted to go out and check on her again, it was too dark for that, and he found himself thinking about the announcement that Mitsuru had made after school that day.

Those terrorist attacks in Tokyo three weeks ago had gripped the entirely of the nation. A whole ward in Tokyo shut down and isolated due to the biological and chemical contamination; the Tokyo Lockdown as it was being called was the stuff that could break a government.

While it was all very interesting to Mitsuru, the perennial slacker Junpei found that politics and government meant nothing. All that mattered to him was that in response a large-ish section of students that had been trapped inside the Yamanote Line had moved out of the damaged city and that Gekkoukan High had opened their doors to some of the displaced students.

It was therefore simplicity itself to introduce Aigis to the student population as one of these unfortunate souls. No one would question the robot girl too closely in the midst of so many new faces, making the keeping of her true nature a secret more likely. That she acted weirdly could be attributed to post-traumatic stress of some sort or another. Heck, the school even had a couple psychologists on call for just that thing.

Officially they would be introduced tomorrow. But today Mitsuru let the rest of SEES know, and to get Aigis' help in filling out the last details of her paperwork.

"Meh, whatever." His grunt of dismissal of such things fell only onto the ears of Koromaru, who looked up at him with sad eyes. There was a full moon in four days. They had to be ready for that. Minato had scheduled a trip into Tartarus tomorrow, last minute training he said. Junpei groaned, hoping that it would be a quick Dark Hour.

**05 September 2009**

**Minatodai Dormitory, 4th Floor Command Centre**

**The Dark Hour**

Ikutsuki watched with SEES and their newest recruit as Fuuka scanned the Dark Hour for the existence of their next target. "Have you detected it yet?"

Fuuka, ensconced in her Persona, nodded. "Yes... I think. It's near or at Paulowina Mall. I'd have to get closer to find it precisely."

Minato stood, "Come on. Let's go get it."

**Paulowina Mall, Club Escapade**

She took another glance at the impossible thing that occupied the centre of the room before ducking back behind the bar. The entire world was tinted in a sickly green with red splotches that reminded her of nothing so much as blood. Yet this demon was just sitting there, giving off a blue aura and reeking of electricity. Her current spot was safest to allow her to avoid the wires and the massive amounts of Zio she had seen that thing put out.

She desperately wanted to fight it, but while her COMP was still on her, it was still inactive. She had a weapon on her, the habits wouldn't die any time soon, but she also had no Demons, nor a Harmonizer to level the playing field to let her beat this thing directly.

This wasn't supposed to happen! He became the King! They has ascended to the top of the Hills and defeated Babel, sending all the Demons away! Why was there one here and now? What was going on? And without her COMP, she could do nothing.

Nothing...

She didn't want to die either, so she stayed hidden.

**Paulowina Mall, Main Concourse**

SEES stood in a rough circle around the central fountain, stopped in the empty moment between seconds. "Tch. Lame-ass underclassmen slouching off." Shinjiro grumbled as he expressed his displeasure at their missing member. It was not an unshared sentiment, though Fuuka was ignoring Junpei's latest antics in favour of focusing on finding the Shadow nearby.

"Tell me, O Lucia, what is this thing that deceives me?" She sought out through her expanded senses into the larger universe. Delivering an improvised prayer, she looked harder. "Hear the wind's answer in our ear. Touch the earth's answer with your fingertips. Taste the water's answer with on our lips..." Her brow furrowed with an effort to do what should have been obvious.

"Is she alright?" Akihiko asked, joining Fuuka in the 'ignore Shinji for the moment' crowd. Privately he felt that her prayer was something odd to give to one's own Persona, but if it helped her, he wouldn't be the one to judge. But if she couldn't find it, how would they fight it?

"Please don't break her concentration." Mitsuru delivered her warning while burying her own worries. She still had to lead by example.

"Found it!" Fuuka said triumphantly. "It's over there!" She pointed towards Club Escapade, where a small line of transmogrified coffins lined up, the people entombed while waiting to enter. "But it seems to be quite diffuse, spread out over the area. The central part is in there!"

**Club Escapade**

Shinjiro carefully inched open the door to the Club, not surprised that it was unlocked. The posters said there was a concert there tonight for some teenaged idol or something like that. But what worried him was the tight confines. The Club was crowded with transmogrified patrons, and so they couldn't move about freely.

It was just Minato, Yukari, himself and Akihiko – who insisted on going along with Shinjiro's first Full Moon Arcana hunt. Fuuka had determined that it was of the Hermit Arcana, though what that meant for the battle ahead, no one knew.

So without knowing exactly what sort of trap they were walking into this time, it seemed like a good idea to put the man whose Persona had no weaknesses up front.

And there it was. Standing right in front of the stage like it owned the joint. A lot of coffins were scattered about, and the four of them advanced carefully into the Club, trying to get as close as possible to the Hermit before the battle could begin in earnest.

They managed to get into striking range when they ran out of cover. On Minato's signal, they charged at the Hermit, who in turn let loose an electric shriek and the battle was joined.

At the sounds of fighting, she poked her head around the top of the bar, just a little. It was enough to see that she wasn't imagining things. That there were people out there with weapons and that they were fighting against the Demon.

She should be out there, really, but every time she went for her club, her hands refused to move. She tried to justify this to herself by saying that four was enough, and that adding in a fifth would just make things harder.

And none of them had a COMP either that she could see. How did they keep summoning their Demons like that? But then again, it didn't look like a real summoning. The Demons just appeared, then vanished right away. And they were using... guns?

That made no sense at all!

Of course, things making sense stopped being critical to her over the past month.

Her reflections stopped when the girl with the bow took a heavy hit from a Zio attack and fell back hard, probably unconscious. Her name – Yukari – was yelled out by the nearest man, a boxer of some sort. He tried to rush to her aid, but was blocked by one of the waving tentacles, the bundled mass of electric wire as effective as any wall.

She could see that the demon was charging up for another attack, one that was certain to put this Yukari out of the fight, if not her life.

That meant there was only one thing left to do. She didn't need to know how she could safely fight to do it either.

Breaking cover, she prayed to the King of Bel that she would be in time. A wordless yell escaped her lips as she dashed those few scant meters between safety and rescue, jumping over one of the demon's wires to reach Yukari. Behind her, she could feel the familiar charge of energy and realizing that she couldn't make it to safety in time, covered Yukari with her own body.

Pain. Oh, she'd felt pain like this before, been hit with pretty powerful Zio spells in the past. But the pain was real, she was still alive, and that meant she was under the Harmonizer's effects. The pain would pass. She stood up to let Yukari do the same.

Yukari opened her eyes into a stranger's smiling face. "Are you alright?" she asked the girl, the sounds of the others renewing their battle to keep her – no, them – safe.

"I'm fine," her rescuer replied. "It'll take more than that to put me down. You?" She offered a hand to the prone archer to help her up.

Yukari's answer was drowned out by another blast of magical power. This one was directed squarely at the mysterious girl, who took the blow on her back, completely unprepared for it. She fell to her knees, vision going black and red.

_Ow_, she thought, the only cognisant thing that crossed her mind in that moment. She saw Yukari pull out a gun and stick it in her mouth, summoning up a demon to try and heal her. _Ow. My knees. Silly girl, you can't summon a demon properly that way. You need a COMP. That's how it's done._

Darkness and numbness. _Am I going to die? That... kinda really hurt. But at least I did it like a hero! For Love and Justice!_

_I only wish he could have seen me. I'm not afraid of this. I just wish we could have fun one more time. We'd do wonderful things together_!

As the Magical Girl Warrior of Love and Justice, Komaki Midori fell to the ground, she whispered the name of her one truest friend in her heart, calling forth the image of him from her deepest desires. Unheeding of the consequences, the summons was put forth, desire in the veil of shadows between this world and another.

And he answered.

"Black Frost"

**The Velvet Room**

Igor's head snapped up, worry and fear written clear across his face. "No! This must not be!"


	2. 05 sept 2009 to 06 Sept 2009

**05 September 2009**

**Paulowina Mall, Club Escapade**

**The Dark Hour**

The confusion of someone unexpected in the Dark Hour turned a battle that was slowly going their way into a battle that was quickly spinning out of their control. The addition of a fifth had destroyed their hasty plans and put another weak link in the chain of their team, and the Hermit had taken the seemingly perverse pleasure in punishing her for getting in the way.

Then she summoned her Persona.

It was huge. A colossal black creature that seemed to grow with every iota of power put into it. Standing on two legs in gained more and more definition as it entered into the Dark Hour. About its feet, purple velvet slippers with yellow tops formed, black skin seemed to absorb all the light that was unfortunate enough to touch it. The rounded body and arms reminded them of the body of a snowman painted charcoal. Wicked nails protruded from the tips of its fingers. Another band of purple cloth, this time around its neck was cut into many triangles. As the head coalesced, the red mouth was highlighted by a pair of white fangs, spread out into a grin that promised evil. Wide red eyes burned like embers, fury and vengeance their plain desire. A purple cap went over where the ears should be, a golden icon of itself on the forehead.

"The messenger of Lover and Justice is Ho-Here! **Black Frost!** Time for some Magical Punishment! HEE-HO!"

The Persona was tall. Over twelve feet in height, it seemed to draw in power from all around it. It looked down at the Hermit, who shirked back at its burning gaze.

It then punched the Shadow. It would have been comical, but there was nothing funny about the massive windup of the Black Frost's arm that smashed straight into the Hermit's head, piledrivering it into the ground. Not to pass up the opportunity, the four human jumped into the fray, a ball of violence that tore into the Hermit before the humans were thrown back out of it.

The Frost took a step back, it's massive bulk seeming to shrink after the might of the first blow. It knelt beside the fallen Midori, carefully cradling her in his hands. Yukari sent a wave of healing energy into her to keep her steady, and she was rewarded when Midori opened her eyes and a beautiful smile, one that only came from the greatest of joys, spread across her face. "Frosty? Is.. that you?"

"Dolly-Ho! You're He-hurt pretty badly!" The Black Frost was quiet in his response, knowing well how loud he could be. "Don't worry-ho! You'll he-be fine!"

Midori weakly raised one hand to point at the Hermit. "Bad! Go get'im!" Then she closed her eyes again.

**Main Concourse**

Fuuka yelled in pain, clutching her temples and collapsing into Mitsuru's arms. "What's wrong, Yamagishi?"

Struggling to make sense of the powerful new force that had emerged to fight the Hermit, only one word escaped her lips. "Demon!"

Reacting, she pointed to the Club. "Aigis! Check it out and report back!" The robot nodded, and dashed for the entrance. Opening the door, she took one good hard look inside, then close it again. "There is an unknown Persona assisting in the battle. It does not appear to be one of Minato's. There is an unknown civilian injured, and Yukari was attempting to protect her. There is a high probability that the two are related."

"What."

"Shall I repeat?"

A loud smash interrupted Mitsuru's reply. Then silence. "Investigate and offer assistance if it is required."

Aigis nodded, and ran back for the door when it was opened from the inside. Shinjiro was carrying the unconscious girl on his back as Minato held open the door for them all. "We won," he announced, "but it seems like we found another Persona-user in the process."

Mitsuru nodded, helping Fuuka to her feet. "The Persona's emergence and power caught Yamagishi off guard. She called it demonic."

The four who had fought the Hermit looked to each other. "I'd say." Yukari said, shaking her head. "Damn thing was vicious like nothing I've ever seen."

Akihiko changed the subject. "Did Junpei arrive yet?"

Ken replied in the negative. "No, he didn't."

"Are you well enough to look for him, Fuuka?" Minato asked calmly. "We can find him, and with the Shadow destroyed, Akihiko and Mitsuru-senpai can talk to him about his attendance."

"So what am I? A pack mule to carry Miss... what was it called? Black Frost. Yea. Miss Black Frost here back to the Dorm? She's out cold from the beating she took." Shinjiro grumbled, gaining a sympathetic look from Koromaru.

"I don't think that will be necessary." Fuuka spoke up from inside Lucia. "It seems like Junpei is back at the Dormitory with the Chairman, but something seems off about it. They seem alright, but I think we should hurry back, just in case."

"Yes. Let's do that." Mitsuru walked over to Shinjiro and his burden to look her in the face. "Oh, I know her." She sounded surprised. "This is Komaki Midori, Class 1-B. She's one of our Tokyo Transfers. Here less than a week and her powers awaken." Shaking her head at the improbability of it, she gestured for Shinjiro to take the lead. "The Chairman will want to know about this, and she can recover in one of the spare rooms."

**06 September 2009**

**Minatodai Dormitory, Third Floor**

**Morning**

Midori awoke to pain. It wasn't a hard pain, but the dull ache all over that she knew well as being what happened after getting a sound beating.

She curled up a bit tighter under the blankets, wondering how she got back to her dorm room last night. She didn't have anything to drink that she could remember, although the possibility that the Rise concert was so awesome that her brain couldn't take it, and wiped the memories away. In its place was a nice dream of being held in Frosty's hands as he rocked her to sleep and fought her foes. That was nice.

Rolling over, she shucked off the sheets, noting distastefully that she hadn't bothered to change out of her clothes, though at least she had the good sense to leave her shoes...

Where was she?

Adrenaline spiked in her body and she jumped out of the bed into a bare and barren bedroom. A look out a curtained window told her she was up on one of the hills of the mainland, on the third floor of a building. Another panicked look around and she found her glasses on the table and her police club beside it.

Seeing this, she put on her glasses, allowing the world to come into better focus. The club went into the band that held up her skirt at her back and she carefully made sure that her jacket wasn't showing the bulge of the weapon. If she still had that, then she didn't feel like she was in trouble, nor that there was going to be trouble she couldn't handle. Maybe one of the other girls took her back to her dorm instead?

Well, anyways, it seemed like a good idea to find and greet her hosts, and to thank them properly for the use of the room overnight.

**2****nd**** Floor, Minato's Room**

He grumbled as he groped for the phone. Usually people had enough decency to wait until he was up and dressed before they called him to ask him out or something like that. But who ever this was would just have to do whatever they wanted without him. In the grips of a post-Full-Moon slump, he figured he should just sleep the day way rather that walk around like one of the Lost.

And let Mitsuru and Akihiko and Ikutsuki deal with Chidori and Strega today. He can be 'leader' after supper.

Except the phone was still ringing, and he could have sworn he had turned it off already. Well, maybe he didn't. He was still tired. Giving in to the inevitable, he found the phone and flicked it open next to his ear. "Hello?"

"Greetings. This is Elizabeth, from the Velvet Room."

"Morning Elizabeth. You usually wait a couple days to tell me there's been a change in Tartarus' configuration."

"That is not what I am calling about. The Master wishes to speak to you."

_That_ woke him right up and he began to wonder just what it was that Igor wanted from him. This had to be serious. "Yes. Do I come there or..?"

The sounds of a phone being passed over came to Minato. "This is Igor. The girl whom you encountered last night, during the Dark Hour?" He had to be talking about that Komaki girl and Minato nodded his head even though Igor couldn't see the motion. "I must speak with her immediately, and directly. Please bring her to the Velvet room today or tomorrow at the latest. This is of vital importance. Do you understand?"

Minato nodded again. "Yes sir." The phone promptly disconnected before he had a chance to ask what this was about so that he could figure out how to do this. Now all he had to do was to figure out how to convince a girl he met less than 12 hours ago to follow him into Tartarus or into the back hall of Paulowina Mall. Should be no trouble. Just turn on the charm.

**Fourth Floor, Control Room**

The two people in the room barely had any sleep over the last night. Chairman Ikutsuki put down the paper folder containing everything they knew about the girl they still thought was sleeping on floor below them. "I see nothing unusual in her file. Well, aside from the obvious that is." He pulled out a separate sheet that held a quick sketch of her Persona, the black giant and a quick description of its observed capacities.

Mitsuru stifled a yawn poorly. "I have to agree. It seems that the presence of the Shadow outside Tartarus was enough to awaken her power. The sheer strength involved may have come from how badly she was injured defending Takeba. We need further observation to determine just how stable her Persona really is."

"Indeed!" The Chairman seemed quite joyful. "Such an amazing thing, that! A sustained Persona summoning lasting for minutes! And in combat too! Even our Fuuka would be hard pressed to match that duration." He practically salivated at the thought of adding someone with such power to SEES, and to further his own plans.

Mitsuru privately agreed with his vocal expressions. "But still, testing is required. The circumstances were less than idea last night, and Shinjiro apparently had some concerns as well. I would like to address them before committing to any course of action.

"As is well within your rights! You two and Akihiko are the oldest Persona users we have, so if you feel something is out of the ordinary, I will bow to your judgement. But do be careful, I'd hate for her to break."

Mitsuru nodded. "Of course, Mr. Chairman. How shall we arrange for her to move into the Dorm?"

"Oh, that's simple! A little slip up with the paperwork, and she'll come sliding right into our merry little home here!"

"A paperwork error?" Catching the intention, and knowing he would need time to make it happen, Mitsuru stood. "If you'll excuse me, I must head to the hospital and check in on Akihiko and Chidori of Strega."

"Yes, do so. Our guest should still be sleeping, so leave her to us."

**1****st**** Floor, Dining Room**

Junpei felt like shit. And the looks that Shinjiro and Koromaru were giving him didn't help any either. Wallowing in his own stupidity for falling for her tricks like that, oh, how could he have been so blind?

Alright, he knew _exactly_ why he did those things, but it still hurt him in retrospect.

He heard someone coming down from the floor above, and Koromaru cocked his head to the side before racing over to the bottom of the steps where he stood perfectly still and quiet.

"OK. That's weird." Junpei commented at Koro's strange behaviour, hoping to distract his senior from the recriminating glances. "He usually barks for people like Ken or Aigis or Minato. But I've never seen him quiet like that."

"mpth" Shinjiro didn't care to respond with anything intelligible. He did hear the footsteps as well, but noted that they were hesitant. Like someone wasn't sure of where they were going. _Don't tell me she's woken up already?_ he thought to himself before swallowing the last of his eggs. Playing up his hunch was easy, and if he was wrong, well, he wouldn't lose face over it. "Come on down. Breakfast is cold, but I can warm something up."

Midori reached the bottom of the stairs, kneeling down to let the dog sniff her hands. Once the canine was satisfied with her presence, it turned and walked through an entryway to her left, the same place where the gruff voice had come from.

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, knowing full well how well first impressions could influence people, she boldly walked around the corner and put on the most cheerful expression she could muster despite her hair and clothes being a mess. "Good Morning!" She bowed deeply. "My name is Komaki Midori, and I am a student at Gekkoukan High School! I am pleased to meet you! Pardon the intrusion!" She held her position, staring at the carpeted floor until she heard a grunt from what she figured was a middle-aged man. Probably a dorm manager, or the father of one of the people who lived here. Well, he did invite her down for breakfast.

Raising her head slowly, her first thought was that he had vanished into the kitchen (behind the door in the corner to her left if she didn't miss her mark). Two older boys sat a a long table that could seat a dozen. One had a baseball cap and wore the sports outfit from her new school. He gave a whistle as she stood up to her full height (he was still taller) while the other was a young man hunched over in a trench coat. The latter scowled at her. "Um... Hello?"

"I'm Shinji. The idiot's Junpei. We live here. Grab a seat." The gruff man pointed at an empty chair and Midori took it. He stood, then vanished in the back room before coming back with some fried egg on rice and a pair of chopsticks. "Eat up." The command was something she couldn't fight so she gave her thanks, then dug in. She wasn't aware of how hungry she was until she had finished off the bowl and caught herself asking for seconds.

"I'm Junpei! Nice ta'meetcha!" The cap wearing boy she instantly pegged as one of her less desirable fan types. The ones who thought they were far more charming than they could ever be. She had dealt with far too many of those already, and seeing one here soured her mood just slightly. Now she just wanted to finish her food, thank her benefactors and get out.

It wasn't like she was in costume or something like that. So why bother?

So she replied with silence and a glance that spoke "unless I have something to say to you, shut up". This earned a mirthful chuckle from Shinji who read the expression perfectly while delivering the second bowl. "Want some more? Got plenty as people are still sleeping in."

**Kirijo Memorial Hospital**

**VIP Wing**

Akihiko grumbled as he paced back and forth. Chidori had been sedated for now, and his presence here was completely unnecessary now that it was no longer the Dark Hour and she had been deprived of her Evoker.

But he had to be thankful for the quiet and isolation from Mitsuru as he had been given a very unenviable task by Minato. While it was certainly the leader's job to delegate, he almost wished that Minato had taken this upon himself. Shaking his head free of the webs of tiredness, Akihiko turned his thoughts back towards the events of last night.

He and the others had reported that the _Black Frost_ had gone on a rampage, but while that was technically accurate, there was more to that event than they felt comfortable in saying before they could report it to Mitsuru and the Chairman.

In the end, they had decided to let Akihiko handle it. And he found himself in a circle of thoughts. Perhaps he should write things down? No, that wouldn't help. But he did need to get the vital points in order first.

First. First was that [i]Black Frost[/i] spoke. No Persona had ever said anything, ever. They were aspects of ones own personality and psyche. Why would they speak? It had introduced itself, then it had spoken again to the Komaki girl before rejoining the battle. He didn't hear what it said then, but according to Yukari, it was words of encouragement.

That led into the second point. He'd seen rampant Personas before. They fought with all their might, unaware of the consequences of their actions. But this Black Frost, as it helped them destroy the Hermit before returning from whence it came, utilized a violence and brutality that exceeded anything he had seen or experienced before.

What he finally rationalized out was that Black Frost acted with intentional and _intelligent_ rage. This was no mindless berserker monster that fought because the controlling mind was disabled. No, this was the anger of a creature that had been personally and grievously wronged and whose only recourse was through battle. He could see it still in his mind, the look in the eyes, the body language, all spoke of something more...

Black Frost was no ordinary Persona. Not by a long shot. But what was it? What forces were at work here? And what did all this mean about their newest guest? What sort of person could create such a thing in their mind?

He needed to talk to Aigis as soon as he could. The robot would have already begun analyzing the Black Frost and he hoped that would provide some insight to help guide him.

**Minatodai Dormitory**

**1****st**** Floor Dining Room**

Shinji carefully removed the empty third bowl from in front of the young girl. Her heavy regular breathing told him that she was fast asleep, having finished her food properly. It looked like her stamina wasn't as great as he first thought, which was a disappointment on some level. After setting Junpei to washing dishes in penitence, he debated carrying her back up to her room again.

"Nah. No way in hell." There was no way he was going to drag her back up to the third floor again. She could sleep at the table here for now.

Though now that he looked at her more carefully, not only had she fallen asleep sitting up, hands in her lap, she had done so without leaning against the chair at all. Impressed with her self-control, he also saw that she had re-armed herself before coming down. While he knew that certain people in the Dorm would object to her carrying around a weapon, he personally didn't have a problem with it. As long as she didn't use it on anybody.

He wandered over to the living area and turned the channel on the television away from the weather channel Koromaru was watching and over to Tanaka's show, hoping the sly businessman had something useful for the kitchen today.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Mitsuru suppressed the anxiety that had crossed her worried mind when she found Komaki out of her room. A quick run back upstairs to alert the Chairman and they had reviewed the security cameras to show her being detained in the dining area by Iori and Shinjiro.

Well, Shinji didn't need it. She trusted him, despite everything. And Iori obviously followed his command, and would therefore have worked off just a little of her wrath.

Turning into the dining room, she saw Komaki snoring gently in her chair, her purple-rimmed glasses almost ready to fall off. Not wanting to see them damaged on her first day in the Dorm, she carefully removed them, noticing the scratch marks on the rims. Obviously she hadn't been taking care of them properly. Iori was in the back doing chores while Shinji was carefully watching the television with an intense expression on his face.

"Hey, Mitsuru." He greeted her without changing his expression. "You didn't need to do that. She's got a solid pair on her. They wouldn't have fallen off. Even if they did, well, they've seen worse days."

"I will have to speak with her about that. As a student of Gekkoukan, there are standards to maintain." She walked over to him, noting that the show he was watching was a sales show of some kind. She recognized the businessman from some of the Kirijo Group files she had been sent by her father, but nothing struck her as out of the ordinary. "Than you for keeping her here. I trust you did nothing excessive?"

Shinji snorted. "Excessive? Hah! Nah. She came down, I offered her food, she ate, then went right back to sleep. Girl woke up long enough to put something in her stomach."

"Excellent. I would hate to have to try and smooth things over if you had to use force to detain her."

"Force? Seriously?" Shinjiro shook his head sadly. "I know you and Ikutsuki were talking about recruiting her, but in the end, that's her choice to make. Not mine or yours."

"That is true. But she also jumped into the battle to aid Takeba, so I doubt her decision is in doubt. And with her here, that means one less hassle to deal with."

"Bah."

"Anyways, I'm off to see Akihiko. We will be back before supper."

"Bye."

Mitsuru left to collect her jacket before leaving Shinjiro to his potential shopping. Junpei finished his dishes, then came back out into the kitchen. "Still sleeping, huh? You want to take her upstairs again?"

"Nah. Let her sleep. She falls and smacks her nose, no fault of mine."

"Huh." Junpei came over to watch Tanaka's show as well. "So, I heard you two talking. She going to be joining us? Another cute girl to liven up the place?"

"We are unsure yet." Mitsuru replied from the front door.

Shinji rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Translation: She's still deciding what colour to paint the new girl's room. Yea, after that little show she and her Persona put on last night, once she stabilizes, I think we'll have ourselves a new recruit."

"Ah, good. In that case, Mitsuru-senpai, I would like to be the one to talk to her about joining SEES." Minato surprised people by appearing at the stairwell. "This evening if possible. I haven't actually given the recruitment spiel to anyone, and want to give it a shot. And I think the sooner, the better."

Mitsuru thought this over while putting on her boots for going outside. Recalling who had recruited whom over the past few months, she realized that Minato for all the leadership she had put onto him, had never actually talked to anyone about joining SEES. This would be a good move for him, and she approved of his initiative in asking. "I see no reason why not. Shinjiro will return her to her room, and you can talk to her after supper."

No one saw the pained expression on Shinji's face.


	3. 06 Sept 2009

**06 September 2009**

**Minatodai Dormitory, 4th Floor Control Room**

**Afternoon**

Midori awoke relaxed and on her side. She stretched out and found herself on a leather couch of some sort. "Ah! You're awake! Pardon the surroundings, but we were already doing stuff with your room when we moved you."

The friendly, cheery voice caused her to roll over, startled. Whereupon she promptly fell onto the floor. "Ow..."

"Are you alright?" She turned her head to see a middle-aged man leaning over a large desk, looking at her with worried eyes. "Ah, forgive me. My name is Chairman Shuji Ikutsuki. I am the head of the Minatodai Dormitory."

It was Midori's turn to ask forgiveness. She took advantage of already being on the floor, and quickly arranged herself into a bow. "I am Midori Komaki! Thank you for taking care of me!"

Ikutsuki laughed. "There's no need for that level of formality Ms. Komaki. One of my residents brought you home last night, and it was decided to let you stay until you were ready to head back to your place."

Standing Midori bowed again. "Thank you again! That was most kind of you."

"Think nothing of it!" Ikutsuki sat down, and Midori did the same. "However, I must point out that is it getting quite late in the day. You slept in quite a bit after your little adventure last night." His tone of voice was that of a teasing uncle, humorous in the face of childish exploits. Midori felt a flush come to her cheeks.

"Sorry, sir!"

"As I said, not a concern. The vitality and energy of youth is not something to be squandered." He waved about him in a fashion that appealed to the dramatic flair in Midori. "I've taken the opportunity of contacting your Dorm manager, and explaining to her that you came here last night with a friend, and that we would be taking care of you. As such, I insist that you stay for supper before you head home."

Midori blinked, surprised at the offer and the actions. "Um, I don't know what to say Chairman Ikutsuki. I don't wish to impose..."

"No! No! You're not imposing at all." His countenance hardened. "Although there is something I'd like to address to you personally in my capacity as Chairman of Gekkoukan High School's Board of Directors." Midori froze in place, wondering if she was about to get in serious trouble for going into Club Escapade while still a Junior – she wasn't even 16 yet! She was too young and pretty to get kicked out of high school!

Ikutsuki sighed as he reached into a draw and produced the police-issue baton that Midori had kept on her. Reflexively, she slapped where the comforting weight should have been, only to find it missing. "Ah, I can explain..." Her mind kicked into overdrive to try to come up with some viable explanation as to why she had it when Ikutsuki resumed talking.

"I can understand a girl like you requiring a stick to beat off your admirers, but this is not acceptable in that regard." His smile was a curl of his mouth, causing Midori to pause in her frantic thoughts. "While Aramaki-san and I are the only ones who know about this," he waved her trusty demon-smashing baton back and forth to emphasize his point, "I must warn you that Gekkoukan High has serious rules against carrying this sort of things, as does the Tatsumi Port Island Police department."

Midori nodded, eyes wide.

"Now, I am sure you were going to try to explain it's presence as a lingering decision after your ordeal in Tokyo, am I right?"

She nodded again.

"As I thought. Well, Miss Komaki, I will have to confiscate it as part of my responsibilities." Her face fell as she watched an old and loyal friend disappear back into his desk. "If circumstances allow, I may be able to return this to you in the future."

Midori nodded, again. This was a hard blow to her, and she struggled to keep her emotions in check. She had hit Bel's over the head with that, and to see it lost because of some old fogey and his stupid rules... "Thank you, sir."

"I cannot say I understand your position on an emotional level, but you are no longer trapped inside the Lockdown. There is no need to arm yourself against aggression." He tried to be understanding and reasonable, but he had to admit to himself that he had no frame of reference to work with a girl who had lived through was was generously thought of as a small scale urban war. Her file was incomplete in that regard.

"I am also required to inform your counsellor of this." He watched her shoulders drop. It was almost like kicking a puppy now, her impossibly deep and clear blue eyes pleading with him for mercy, but he had to be strong. "I'm sorry, but you have to move on." He couldn't say any more. "Please head downstairs to the first floor. You are still invited to supper, and you can thank Yukari for bringing you safely here last night then."

Not able to refuse the invitation from the man who practically ran her new school, Midori bowed and walked out of the office.

Once she left, Ikutsuki realized he hadn't made a single bad pun the entire time. "Must be slipping," he chastised himself. "Have to do better at supper."

Midroi left, closing the door behind her. She took a deep breath to steady herself. In a way, the Chairman was right. She was out of the Lockdown, and didn't need to go around ready to fight off demons at the drop of a hat.

"Yikes!" She yelped and jumped back as she almost walked into another person in her distracted state. "Sorry!" Again, she bowed. "I didn't see you there."

"That's alright. I'm Yukari by the way. You talked to the Chairman, I see." Midori took in the pretty (and she had to admit that she was) brunette, and made the connection that this was the girl that had brought here here last night. Something about her seemed familiar, and in the moment after being addressed, she realized what it was.

"I remember you!" Midori snapped her fingers. "You're... you're..." She paused, trying to pin down the memory. She remembered seeing Yukari last night, but the memory wasn't _connected_ to anything. She was... On the floor? Why? Oh! Her face lit up as she made the connection. "You fell! Tripped, I think, and I helped you! Right?"

Yukari hid her surprise poorly. "Something like that. Mitsuru-senpai told me to wait here for you, to take you downstairs, that sort of thing." She frowned as she looked down at the blue-haired girl. _She must spend a fortune on dye, especially with how long her hair is_, she thought as she realized what it was she was about to offer. "Although I suppose you should wash up first. Come on, I'll show you where the girl's room is first."

A few minutes later, Midori felt extremely refreshed. A good washing of one's face (though careful not to disturb her makeup too much) and hands made her feel like she was human again. She emerged, feeling like a brand new person into the Dorm proper and Yukari's waiting presence. "Come on, supper's getting started."

"Oh, I should thank you for bringing me here last night."

Yukari stopped on one of the stairs. "Oh, don't worry. Shinji-san was the one who did all the work of carrying you home." She smiled at the memory of the big tough man and the little girl who clung to him like a giant teddy bear.

**1****st**** Floor, Dining Area**

She was introduced to the rest of the Dormitory. Junpei, Shinjiro, Koromaru, Yukari and the Chairman she had already met and she gracefully accepted the names of Minato, Akihiko, Mitsuru, Fuuka, Ken and Aigis. She would try to remember them for this evening, then forget them after she got home.

Mitsuru she recognized as being on the Student Council. Akihiko was some sort of Sports star. They both had fan clubs. Ken explained he was here due to family issues, and Midori, her own mother dead, didn't press the issue. Aigis was introduced by name, but there was no indication of where the foreigner was from, or why she was here. She remembered seeing her last week as part of the people who moved to Tatsumi from Tokyo, so perhaps she was another Lockdown survivor?

She was glad she didn't have her COMP on her. Who knows how she would have reacted then? Not everyone got to be the heroes of that week, she had been forced to realize.

Supper was mostly quiet. She could feel the strain her presence was putting on those around her, so she resolved to get out as soon as politely possible. Thankfully it wasn't a big meal, and she was able to finish it while avoiding any offers of dessert.

Afterwards, she thanked Yukari again, as well as Shinjiro. The girl was polite, while the man seemed to be quite uncomfortable with the attention she directed at him.

Minato approached her. "Hello. Mitsuru told me to walk you back to your place to make sure you arrive safely." It was a simple statement, but his tone of voice told her that he was just doing his job.

"So, you're like, what? The Assistant Dorm-manager?"

He laughed a moment. "Something like that. She seems to enjoy telling me to do things, and I've found it's just better for all concerned if I helped out."

Midori nodded, knowing the type. "You don't have to if you don't want to. I'm not afraid of getting lost."

"That's alright." He put on his own shoes and jacket to go outside. "Would you mind if we swung by Paulowina Mall first? There's something I have to do there, and it's on the way."

**Paulowina Mall, Main Concourse**

**Evening**

She stood in front of the Crane game by the arcade. A small pile of 100 yen coins had already been wasted as she manoeuvred the claw to grab at that _Jack Frost_ plush that was just sitting there, taunting her with it's obviousness and position.

A part of her wondered, as she pressed herself against the glass to try and get a better view of where the claw would drop, how someone managed to escape the Lockdown and create a plush toy of the Jack Frost's that had appeared.

She dismissed the thought as irrelevant, the speed of business was something she couldn't begin to understand. "Come on...! Come on! Come to Dolly!" The claw began to descend. "Come to Dolly! I'll teach you about love and justice and I can paint you black..."

She saw Minato in the reflection of the glass, his hands full of stuff from the pharmacy as well as something from that jewelry store beside the Mandagora. "Hey, can we grab a seat for a moment?" He indicated the ring of benches around the central fountain.

While normally this would have set off her 'stalker' alarms, there was something in the way he said it that compelled her to agree. It was the eyes, she decided as the claw missed its target and retracted to the roof of the cabinet. Something in them seemed familiar.

They sat down and he got right to the point. "What do you remember from last night?"

She recognized a question to which the answer wasn't obvious, and that there was something about the question that made her think long and hard about what she did remember.

"I remember Yukari getting hurt." A single still frame in her mind flashed. "But..."

Minato looked expectant. "What happened? I remember..." _Frosty_

She took a leap of intuition. Something happened, Yukari got hurt, and every time she tried to remember what happened during the concert, something that every time she tried to pin it down, all she got was a sense of the dull pain from this morning and the growing certainty that her dream about Frosty... _wasn't_.

Minato saw her stiffen, her eyes going wide. The obvious signs that she was starting to piece together her memories from the night previous. "Did he.. hurt anyone?" The question was asked quietly as though to not attract the attention of any passers-by.

He shook his head. "No." Midori let out a sigh. "It's hard, the first couple days. I spent a week completely out of it when I first saw the Dark Hour."

"The what?"

"The Dark Hour. It's... It's a moment in time at Midnight, an hour where the world changes. People, normal people, they can't see it. And there are monsters in it we call the Shadows. SEES, the Special Extracurricular Execution Squad, well, we fight the Sha...do...w...s." His explanation was cut short as Midori was just _staring_ at him, eyes glistening with tears and a joyful smile on her face. "Uh... Midori-san?"

She was lost in own little world. For someone else, the information that was being dropped in her lap would be cause for concern, if not outright denial. For her? It was a dream come true. The chance to be a hero again, to save people from demons and what not?

"I'm IN!" she proclaimed, a loud exclamation that drew unwanted attention from the crowd.

"I don't think you understand what's going on here." At least, that's what Minato tried to say, but he only got the "I..." out before she snatched his hands into hers and was right up in his face. Her earnest eyes bored holes into him from well within his personal space. "Midori..."

"You're a hero! I'm a hero! We're going to bring Love and Justice to the world!"

He pulled himself away. "I get it! I get it! You're willing to help!"

Midori began to celebrate the end of her peaceful days. "Yes! YES!" She lunged at Minato again, this time embracing the older boy in a hug. She was no stranger to life or death battles, what was there to worry about?

Extricating himself again from the excited glasses-girl's grip, he decided that standing was probably safer. Or would at least give him time to run if she jumped at him again. "In that case, there's a couple people in the Mall here I need to introduce you to. After we've done that, you'll head back to your place tonight. Tomorrow, after school, you'll come back to the Minatodai Dorm, and we'll get all the details sorted out."

"So does that mean we're going hunting tomorrow night?"

Realizing he hadn't even mentioned Tartarus, Minato shook his head. "No, with you joining, we'll want to warm you up first, get some practice in before the real thing."

Midori pouted, eager to... do what exactly? She didn't do much of anything last night. Her memories were still fuzzy, but it seemed like it was Black Frost that did all the work. Oh well, if she summoned him once, she can do it again, no sweat! "Oh, fine," she made it sound like nothing was wrong, no doubts in her heart. "So, where first? Secret underground base? Don't tell me we have to go into some back-room in the Club?"

No, nothing like that." Minato wondered how Igor would handle letting Midori into the Velvet Room. Normal people and even other Persona users didn't see it normally, so the question still lingered. "First stop is the Police station there."

**Police Station**

Officer Kurosawa was surprised when Minato came in with a younger girl. His first thought was that he had shown her here because she needed his professional assistance. "Hello young lady, how may I help you?" He put on his best public face as he gave a polite bow and she returned it in full.

"Actually, Midori's with us." Minato had confirmed that they were alone in the police station before telling Kurosawa. "Komaki-san will be joining tomorrow, officially. However, we were already at the Mall, so I decided to take care of things now."

Kurosawa was all business, dropping the public face. "I have heard nothing about this from Ikutsuki."

"Other things have come up. If you want to hold off until you get confirmation from him, that's alright." Minato offered as he saw Midori's clear eyes demand to know what was going on. He decided to explain things to her next. "Because SEES needs certain things that may or may not be considered legal..."

"You mean weapons." Midori jumped to a conclusion.

"Yes. Officer Kurosawa keeps us in supply with those and armour." He gestured to the police man who stood impassive. "However, we do have to pay for things, even if he does give us a discount and bills the rest to Mitsuru directly."

"So... you're corrupt?" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, flashes of policemen (except for that one) with COMPs and Demons abandoning their duties to become thugs. "I've had enough of you in Tokyo."

Her expression was clear enough, and Kurosawa hastened to correct her. "I am not. You said you are from Tokyo? Ah, one of those caught inside the Lockdown. You have my sincerest apologies for the actions of those members of my profession. They betrayed their oaths and their uniforms when they refused to maintain order."

Midori's complaints died on her lips. There was a sincerity to the apology that she hadn't heard from the head of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department on the TV. Here was a man who radiated disgust that anyone could betray their fellows like that. It was something she could almost respect in a man. "But..."

"Understand this, Miss Komaki. The services I provide for your group are very specific. If you step outside these boundaries, you will find that I will have the full force of the law behind me." his visage grew cold and dark, causing Midori to feel like she should be shrinking backwards in fear. But she stood her ground, having seen far worse things. And it wasn't like he was trying to scare her, just trying to impress upon her the severity of what was going on.

Whatever.

"Apology accepted." She bowed again. "Forgive me for doubting you."

"I accept your apology as well." Kurosawa said, returning to his former face. "While Minato is vouching for you, I can't let you have anything yet."

"That's alright!" Midori said, smiling. "You said Chairman Ikutsuki needed to give permission?"

"Yes."

"Well then, when he calls, tell him to give me my weapon back from his drawer!"

**Main Concourse**

Minato processed this new information. Not only was was Midori _armed already_, she, by association, knew how to fight properly. It was something that he needed to pass along to his seniors back at the Dorm.

"So, where next?" He looked over at Midori, who still acted like her revelations weren't.

"Ah, yes. Come on, we'll have to go to the back hall." He pointed to the access hallway under the entrance to the Mandagora that led towards the washrooms. "It's called The Velvet Room".

**The Velvet Room**

Igor felt the presence of The Fool, and willed the Velvet Room's door into existence. Sitting in his sofa, Elizabeth at his side, he waited as the young man who would save the world from Nyx, or not, entered into his private domain, bringing the woman who was the focus of this meeting in as well. "Thank you for arriving so promptly, my good man. I must dismiss you now, for there are things this young lady and I must speak of privately. We shan't be long."

He waited as Minato made sure Midori was seated, then returned to the door that led back into the human world. "I'll be waiting just on the other side." Then he was gone.

His attention turned back to the human before him, and when he opened his mouth to speak, she spoke her own words with a hardness that hid carefully under the happy-go-lucky demeanour she showed. "You're not human. You're not a demon, or an angel either." These weren't questions, just statements of fact.

"Very astute. I am called Igor. This is my assistant, Elizabeth." At this, Elizabeth bowed. "And your name, my dear?"

"I am the Magical Warrior Girl of Love and Justice, Dolly!" She jumped to her feet and posed, one foot on the table, a cute wink on her face. Then just as suddenly as it appeared, the mask came off, and Midori sat back down. "Or you can call me Komaki. Midori Komaki, sir."

Taken aback by the abrupt forcefulness of her introduction, Igor found himself at a momentary loss for words. "Very well then. Shall it be Midori, or Dolly then?"

"Either works for me! So, what do you do? Because you kinda look like that mysterious old man who helps out the hero from behind the scenes, and keeps his secrets, but turns out to the audience to have known the whole plot the entire time, and didn't bother telling anyone because the Journey is more important than the Answer?" Midori leaned forward, eager for his response.

For his part, Igor kept his face perfectly impassive in the face on a very accurate guess as to his true purpose. "I am something of a broker. In information for the most part." That she had struck so close to his motives on what seemed like a wild guess could indicate a great many things, but none that he was willing to gamble on without more information.

"I also provide services in the realm of Personas. Now, while I feel that our mutual friend has already explained things to you, I should re-iterate some things, to impress some facts upon you." Midori nodded, awaiting these lessons. "Imagine if you will, a thin cloth. The world of Humans on one side, and the world of Angels and Demons on the other. You've seen this yourself, have you not?"

Midori agreed. The place that existed above the Hills where they fought Babel seemed like it fit the bill.

"Well, the Dark Hour exists in the fabric of that cloth, and the Shadows are just that, shadows of the real creatures that exist on one side of the seal or another. When this seal is broken, well, I don't need to tell you what comes."

"Demons are summoned. The War for the Throne of Bel."

"Correct." It was a refreshing change, talking to a person who knew more about the structure of the multiverse than most people did. "Now, you can imagine the power of the Persona to be a means by which a person may call forth the power of demons and angels whilst in the Dark Hour, but without fully summoning them into reality."

Her face scrunched up, hard in thought. "The Dark Hour exists as part of the Seals between here and there. People can call up shadows of demons in the Dark Hour, called Personas, to do their bidding. SEES are people with Personas, or rather, have the power to...channel?... the demons closest to them." She looked up at Igor with a burning intensity. "Frosty? I mean, Frost and I?"

"Indeed. When the Seal over Tokyo was repaired – a marvellous job by the way, you and your Black Frost held a connection to each other that the others in your party did not have with any other demon. Your similar goals, outlooks, and the influences you had on each other created a thread that attached the two of you through the thin barrier between worlds."

Midori's face lit up in happiness where this was going. She could see it now! The two of them, running around the world! Kicking ass in the name of Love and Justice, beating up everyone who would do wrong in the world! It would be perfect!

Igor slammed his hands on the table, breaking her daydream. His face was contorted with rage, the sharp nose looking nothing so much as a predator's beak, his ageless eyes pinning her to the chair as surely as a mile of metal chains. "AND LAST NIGHT, YOUR CARELESS ACTIONS THREATENED TO UNDO ALL THAT!"

Then Igor composed himself, brushing up his clothes, even as Elizabeth slowly inched her way back into her usual position, having jumped back at the side of her employer she had rarely had a chance to see.

"Now, dear Midori. When you called forth your 'Frosty', he at least had the sense to return to the Demon World once he was finished protecting you. But in calling him forth like that, you damaged the seal. You endangered the world and came very, very, very close to invoking the wrath of Metatron and the Council of Angels. There would have been no 'Ordeal', they would have simply taken over!

"HAVE I MADE MYSELF CLEAR?"

Midoi, throat dry, nodded. This, this wasn't what she was expecting! She was supposed to be one of the good guys!

Igor continued. "Now, thankfully, there are options available to you. You can simply walk away from all this – though given your admitted preferences, I don't think that likely."

"And another one?" Midori absolutely refused to give up the chance at seeing Frosty again. She locked eyes with Igor, trying to force her will upon his, only for the stone impassivity to come to the fore again.

"As I said, I am something of a Persona... connoisseur. It is within my power to create something that you can use to substitute for your beloved Black Frost. Something which will allow you to continue helping your new friends, but also will preserve the integrity of that thin divide between your world and that of the Demons."

"THAT! I'll do that!" She didn't bother to want to listen to any other choices, her mind was already made up. Any any chance to not break what was fixed, well, that was in her job description, right? Well, one of them, at least.

"Very well. I was prepared for this. Elizabeth. The card, please."

As commanded, Elizabeth pulled out a single blue-hued card from one of her pockets. She handed it to Igor gently, who in turned put it down on the table between him and Midori. An elegant geometric pattern seemed to circle around it, drawing in the eye.

Looking up, her question was obvious, but unasked. Igor's reply was all business. "You do not have the same power as the others you will be working with over the coming months. What I shall do, however, is use an older power. There will be costs, of course. Older styles of Persona-users didn't use the same equipment that your equals do, so I have had to make some...changes."

Midori didn't know the first thing about what he was talking about, so she let the mysterious entity keep talking.

"While I craft this Persona for you, I will draw upon your connection to the real Black Frost. This connection will be channelled into this card, instead of you directly. Now, because of the alteration of this connection..."

Midori tuned out the details, only paying attention to the broad strokes. It was almost hypnotizing, really, hearing that person talk about his work. She could almost detect a hint of pride as he did something like this. Although she did feel like falling asleep. It was like listening to one of those boring teachers drone on and on.

"And it's done." She snapped out of her reverie, suddenly aware that she had lost all track of time.

"Done?" Her voice not only echoed Igor, but her confusion as well.

"Yes. Now, as I mentioned earlier, your new Black Frost will be limited in comparison to your friend. Less... developed. Certainly not as powerful. And more dependent on your perceptions of him. The Persona will grow and develop in line with your expectations, and not necessarily as a reflection of the real Black Frost. This is for your protection as well, as utilizing a persona like this does have it's own risks. You will need to experiment to determine the facts." Igor slid the card over to Midori, who picked it up and turned it over.

A happy, smiling Black Frost looked back at her, and as she held it in her hands, she felt the cold and warmth she associated with Frosty coming from the card. "How do I use it?"

"You must, metaphorically, destroy it. Do not worry, the card itself will remain undamaged, but the act of destruction is part of the invoking procedure. You must find a way to hide this act from your fellows, as it will only raise more questions than it will answer."

Midori looked at the aspect of Frosty before her. "I can try it here? Now?"

Igor smiled and nodded. "You may wish to step back though. I have no wish to lose my table to an accident. They can be so hard to replace."

Midori bounced out of her chair and hopped back a few paces. _This_, she knew exactly how to do. She raised the card over her head, matching eyes with her imaginary foe, another Demon Tamer who was doing evil. "I! Magical Warrior Girl Dolly, do hereby invoke the power of Love and Magical Justice! **BLACK FROST**!"

She gripped the card tightly, her hands and ears feeling the sound of _something_ breaking, and before her a swirl of light emerged. From it, she could clearly make out the form of her beloved Frosty, summoned as a shadow of himself into this world so that they could help each other.

Except he was small. Really, really small. Midori dropped to her knees, and looked down as her Black Frost turned around to look happily at her. "HEE-Ho!" He waved as he greeted her, only to be scooped up and embraced in a hug.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! You're so cute! And hug sized now! I love you, Frosty!" The two-foot tall Persona tried to struggle against the grip that surrounded it, but failed. It was released when the power that went into it collapsed, and Midori found herself with empty arms, and Black Frost's card floating back into her grasp.

"Now, for the cost." Igor reminded her, and Midori looked up in worry. She worried about what he was going to be asked of her, and opened her mouth to say she had no Macca, and she didn't have her COMP on her at all.

"Silence!" Igor barked before she could speak.

"Uh...!" She clamped a hand over her mouth before more than the peep got out.

"No, no, not like that." Igor waved away what seemed to be a misunderstanding. "What I require from you is your silence. You must speak to no one of what transpired here today, nor must you tell your new friends of the Throne of Bel, nor must you tell your old friends of the existence of Persona. Simplicity itself. Do you agree to these terms?"

Keeping quiet vs giving up Frosty. Not a choice at all. Midori pantomimed zipping her mouth shut, and Igor nodded. "Then we are in agreement. Go, now. You have much ahead of you, and many trials to attend. You are late to this particular party, and have much in the way of catching up to do."

So dismissed, Midori made sure to have a firm grip on her Frosty's card, and rushed out the door, back into the real world.

A moment's silence, then where Midori sat, a mask made of butterflies began to coalesce. Igor waited quietly before he was certain that his latest ... guest was comfortable.

"?"

"No," Igor replied. "She won't be a problem."

The mask of Philemon, satisfied, left the Velvet Room.


	4. 07 Sept 2009 to 13 Sept 2009

**07 September 2009  
****Minatodai Dormitory, 1st Floor  
****After School**

* ding dong *

She rang the doorbell again, thought less than five seconds had passed since the first. She checked her reflection in the small window that was set into the door, and through it was able to see someone move towards the door from the inside.

Straightening up, she made sure her bag was still firmly in hand. The door opened to show a teal haired girl whom Midori tried to remember the name of. "Hello!" She launched into her practised speech, "My name is Midori Komaki and I will be staying here from this day forward! Please take care of me!" She added in a bow to the girl to show her sincerity.

"uh..." Fuuka blinked in surprise, staring at Midori. She had heard last night that she was eager to join the fight and that Minato had told her to come over after school. She just didn't expect her to show up just after she herself got back. And she had come straight away to get things prepared. "Come in. You're earlier than we were expecting."

Accepting the invitation, Midori walked into the dorm under her own power for the first time. Frosty's card was carefully tucked into her breast pocket. After kicking off her shoes, she set her bag down onto the counter-top that was beside the entrance. "This place used to be an inn, right?"

Fuuka nodded. "Not many people figure that out." She gestured to the couches where Koromaru looked up at Midori, cocked an ear, then when back to sleep. "Oh, Koro-chan! You should at least greet our newest member!"

The dog yawned.

Fuuka sighed. "Sorry about that. Usually he's more energetic."

Midori didn't mind. "We met yesterday. So, what do you do? You have any super awesome powers?"

"Ah. Well, the seniors were supposed to prepare a more formal briefing for you this evening, but something came up, and it may be delayed until tomorrow." She knew that Midori didn't know about Chidori or STREGA yet, so she had to improvise until they got back. She hated improvising. "But until then, I can talk to you about the basics."

With Koromaru not paying attention, Fuuka explained in her own way about Tartarus and the Shadows that emerge from it. She explained that she couldn't fight and that her job was analysis and support.

"So... These Evoker things, how do they work? Can I see one?"

Fuuka shook her head. "No. They're locked up until we're ready to go into Tartarus."

Junpei took this moment to slam open the door with his shoulder. "Aigis! You could have held the door for me! Yeesh!"

"My hands are full, and you were closer."

The two came in, Junpei not seeing Midori while Aigis did. The two of them set down their supplies on the floor while Junpei complained some more. "So I get why I'm stuck with the job of buying food and stuff, but why you?"

"It was determined that I should not go with our senpai's to visit her."

"Her? You mean Chidori?"

"Hello!" Midori called out from her seat. "You're... Aigis and Junpei, right?"

"GyahhHh! Where did you come from!?" Junpei jumped at the sudden presence. "Wait, you're Midori Komachi, I'm Iori, Junpei Iori."

"Her name is Komaki." Aigis corrected him while examining Midori from across the room. Seeing her with Fuuka, her attention shifted to her instead. "Has she been briefed fully?"

"No. I was in the process of doing it when you two came in. There's only so much I can do with the others being out."

"Ah. I will go meet with them and inform them of Midori's presence."

"You could call them, you know." Junpei rubbed his shoulders. "I mean, they should have a cell phone, right?"

"Not allowed to be active in the Hospital."

"Wait!" Midori said loudly. "There's someone named Chidori in the hospital? Do I have to sign a get well card or something?" She looked aghast at the thought that a fellow member of SEES was hurt and she hadn't been told about it. "Let's head over there now then! All of us! I can introduce myself!"

"No." Aigis shot her down with no preamble. "Chidori is not affiliated with SEES."

"Oh!" Understanding dawned in Midori's eyes. "She's just a friend who isn't a hero. That's alright. We can't all be." She sat down again, not wishing to intrude on a personal meeting.

Unwilling to correct Midori without permission of her seniors, Fuuka moved to take control of the conversation again. "Aigis, why don't you head over there? Midori and I will help Junpei unpack, and we can sort things out from there."

"Acceptable." Aigis spun around and walked away, leaving a slightly annoyed Junpei behind.

**Kirijo Memorial Hospital, VIP Wing**

Stepping out from Chidori's secured room, Mitsuru sighed in frustration. "She's totally uncooperative."

Shinji grunted. "What did you expect? That she would respond with kindness?" He fingered the bottle of pills in his pocket.

"She will break in time." Mitsuru sounded quite sure of herself.

"Is she worth being that hostile too? Isn't it enough to keep her away from her comrades?" Minato offered as he saw Aigis approach from the elevators. "Hello Aigis."

"Hello." Conversation halted until they could all speak without yelling down the hall. "I report that Midori Komaki make contact with Fuuka at the dorm."

"That was quick." Akihiko said. "Was the Chairman there?"

"Negative. Fuuka was briefing her to the best of her capabilities and desired your presence for a more comprehensive review."

Mitsuru sighed, this time in impatience. "So much in such a short period of time. At least she's eager, despite her ignorance." She nodded to a nondescript guard who stood watch over Chidori's room. "We should head back to the dorm and greet her properly."

**08 September 2009  
****Gekkoukan High School, Gymnasium Female Change Room  
****School Hours**

Midori stopped as she came face to face with a very determined woman with longer black hair and dressed in the sports uniform. She had a tennis racket under one arm. "Midori Komaki-chan?"

"Yes?" She pulled on her shirt, momentarily obscuring her sight.

"Iwasaki Rio. Tennis Club. Have you decided what sports club you're going to join yet?"

"Um... I'm in the middle of changing." And to be honest, she hadn't. She had planned to look over the available clubs this week before handing in her applications next Monday, but with the events of the past couple days, it had all slipped her mind.

"That's alright. Listen, the Tennis Club has a strict training regimen. You're the kind of person we want in it! So join, alright?" Rio gave Midori a winning smile, then walked away to join the rest of her own class.

Stunned, Midori tried to figure out where she had seen such bullheaded rudeness before, someone trying to dictate things like that to other people who should be allowed to choose things for themselves.

She had no idea and dismissed the concern from her mind.

**Minatodai Dorm, 4th Floor Control Room  
****Evening**

Minato closed the door behind him. "Yukari and Fuuka have her busy helping unpacking."

Ikutsuki nodded. "Thank you. And I'll remember to thank them later for keeping our newest recruit busy."

"So, we have more information on her Persona?" Akihiko prodded, hoping this would be a short meeting. He was behind on his training, and the fight against the Hermit wasn't much of one.

"Yes." Aigis stood beside the Chairman. "Mitsuru-senpai and myself conducted a review of her Persona last night. The results were unusual, so it was felt further input was required."

Minato rolled his hand. "Well?"

"Midori Komaki-san's Persona, _Black Frost_ appears to be a very mature Persona. It has multiple strengths against Agi, Bufu and Mudo, while also being weak to Zan. It is also a very aggressively organized Persona, with great strength and magical abilities at the expense of poor defence and average mobility. It's abilities in battle should follow the same pattern."

Silence. Then Ikutsuki spoke up. "So a hot and cool persona for a hot and cool person? That doesn't sound unusual. Well, it does, but not in a 'outside the scope of Persona' unusual."

Mitsuru debated her response to his pun and decided that hurting him wouldn't help. "That's not all. Aigis' analysis indicates that Midori has the Moon as her personal arcana yet the _Black Frost_ is the Fool."

Minato was the one who figured things out first. "Are you saying she's a Wild Card, like I am?"

"Unknown at this time." Aigis said flatly. "She only had one active Persona, If she had a second, we would be certain, but for now, we must consider the possibility that is most likely, that she is the first example of a person whose Persona is different from their innate Arcana."

"Wait. Different problem. You said that the Frost was weak to Zan. What is that?"

Ikutsuiki was the one who answered, which surprised Akihiko. "When we first discovered the power of persona and were categorizing it, we assigned names to the various effects they could produce. Agi for Fire, Bufu for Ice." the others nodded in understanding. "Well, we discovered wind and named it Garu, as Takeba wields, but we also thought we discovered a function that was like wind, but in having a more physical presence, a 'Force' effect if you will. We named that Zan. However, later research indicated that the two were aspects of the same element, so it was decided to consolidate them under the same heading, and Garu won out over Zan."

"Same thing, different names then." Mitsuru approved of the idea. "It appears to have been a glitch in the system that called up the old name."

"Actually, that still leaves a question of how she got it so developed in the first place. Everyone – except Minato – has a basic Persona, one with a single strength and weakness." Mitsuru pursed her lips in thought. "Yet why is hers to resilient to three separate elements while only being weak to one?"

No one had an answer to that.

**10 September 2009  
****Gekkoukan High School, Infirmary  
****After School**

"Hello Midori! Sit down."

The doctor was a person she didn't care to remember the name of. He was the type who was supposed to 'help' her after her 'traumatic' experiences a month previously. She hated every minute of the two previous sessions. She couldn't talk about her hero work because she promised not too, and without that, how was she supposed to give the doctor what he wanted to hear?

She wanted to try and contact Lieutenant Izuna after the first session, to ask her to pull strings to get her out of the interview process before she accidentally let slip something she shouldn't and get punished for it.

He asked his inane questions, and the only ones she could answer truthfully were about the friends she had made. Due to the COMPs stopping working after the week, she couldn't get in touch with the others that had helped save the world, let alone use them as references to show that she was properly 'sociable' during the Lockdown.

She finally managed to escape the minute her session had ended, and her first thought was that she needed a Demon – or Shadow – to beat up. Something to get her frustrations out. Crossing the hallway into the library didn't seem like a good idea, but staring at the door, a thought crossed her mind. She had been told the names of the Persona's wielded by the others (except Minato, he was weird) so perhaps she should try something different and do some quick research first?

**12 September 2009**

_Hey! It's Dolly!_

_Today, I have an update for all my fans out there. Well, you know how I was transferred after what happened over the summer? Well, it seems like there was a mix-up in the paperwork._

_No, I'm not switching schools again. But rather it seems like I was put in the wrong Dorm. The one I'm in now? Well, it's the residence of the Student Council President, the hottest man in the school, and, like, a dozen other people all of whom are all just as awesome as I am! And me! It's like they know how popular I am, and had to put me with all the other popular kids!_

_I'm sorry this update is so short, I'm still unpacking from my re-move, but in the future, I'll show you all around! Bye!_

Mitsuru stopped the video. "I don't understand how this could help."

Akihiko sighed, still not sold on the idea himself. Junpei had wanted to recruit Midori to help him get Chidori to open up, and this was one of the pieces of evidence he had called up. "Think of her as like an amateur actress. She does her own costumes, post production, and uses these videos to show off her skills." He didn't add some of the other things people used this sort of thing for.

The oldest person there was clearly impressed by what she assumed was required by all Junpei said, though Akihiko couldn't help but wonder how Junpei of all people came across this information. "Well," he replied, rubbing the back of his head. "I was looking over Fuuka's shoulder while she was doing her thing, and she came across this and I decided to do a little more research! Right! Research!"

Eventually it was decided that letting Miss "Love and Justice" Komaki in to see someone with a highly opposed personality would not be the best thing they could do. Besides, they still had to go into Tartarus tonight.

**1st Floor, Dining Room**

The large table allowed Minato to redo his work. Something he didn't like doing, especially having to do it again so soon after Shinji joined.

One of the things he did after becoming the field leader was to organize a schedule of dates to head into Tartarus as well as teams to go with him. At first it was easy. Everyone brought something to the team and so he could simply rotate who would rest. And then the team doubled in size over the summer with Aigis, Koromaru, Ken, Shinji and now Midori. Each brought their own skills, strengths and weaknesses to the group and it just kept getting harder and harder to figure things out.

When he created teams, he focused primarily on two criteria – compatibility of Persona, and of the person. It wouldn't do to include Mitsuru and Junpei with Ken for example. Ken couldn't moderate the two of them while Minato led. And while Akihiko and Shinjiro got along great, Shinji had problems getting along with everyone except Koromaru. It was all a headache.

Aigis was sitting beside him, offering what help she could. It wasn't much.

And now Midori with her persona that could possibly take the place of Junpei, Koromaru and Mitsuru if Aigis and the Chairman were to be believed. He also had no doubt that she would try to work hard at making sure everyone got along, so that wasn't an issue.

When he started doing this, Mitsuru had approved and even offered some suggestions to help make things go more smoothly. One of them was making multiple copies of the information to scatter about and mix and match from there. And it did help.

If Midori was the glass-cannon as Aigis reported, then it would be a good idea to have Yukari or Mitsuru in the group as well to keep her health up. Probably Yukari as Midori covered Mitsuru's Bufu skills and Yukari was the better healer. On the table, he put a pink and purple slip of paper together.

Shuffling post-it notes, he figured he had enough time over the next couple hours to get at least a plan down until the next Full Moon to take care of things. Perhaps he could use tonight to experiment with different teams to see who jelled and who didn't.

**Outside Gekkoukan High School  
****Before Midnight**

Midori tugged at the hem of her skirt in exasperation. When she had been told that they would be heading to hunt down Shadows that night, she was excited and extremely eager to start, but the others had restrained her from running off by herself.

So she had exercised her energy by putting together what she felt was an appropriate set of clothes for the event. For the self-styled Magical Girl, the possibility of simply wearing her school uniform – even one customized to the maximum extent of the letter of the rules – just rubbed her the wrong way.

No, it was more like a slap in the face to everything she held dear when it came to world-saving and monster-slaying. But Mitsuru had been adamant to the point of ignoring every possible avenue of approach she had tried to take, and forced Midori to wear the proper dress-code of the school uniform. But Love and Justice could not be denied for the sake of a pretty dress, no matter how much she wanted.

"Is it time yet?" She asked for the umpteenth time.

"No." Shijiro replied, checking the heft of his chosen weapon. "It isn't midnight yet."

"My watch says it is."

"Then your watch is fast." Aigis pointed out. "By several seconds. When was the last time you set it properly?"

Midori's answer was cut off as the Dark Hour started. She stood in rapt attention as the school transformed before her eyes. The tower of Tartarus grew into the sky, and she followed it with a dispassionate gaze until it reached its apex.

"Well? What do you think?" Mitsuru turned to look at Midori, only to find their newest member walking away. "Wait! Where are you going?"

Midori stopped and kicked up one foot to point at her school shoes. "I am _not_ going to climb _another damned tower_ without proper footwear. So I'm headed back to the Dorm to get my sneakers. Because _someone_ forced me into the proper uniform."

Junpei choked on his laughter, earning a glare from some of the others.

**Tartarus, 48th Floor  
****The Dark Hour**

"MAAAAGICAL PUNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIISHM ENT!" Midori leaped for the Shadow, her police baton raised over her head for a massive strike. It connected, and the battle was on, though it lasted mere seconds as the group of four were far too powerful for this section of the tower. "Ha! I win again!"

"Now, we'd like to observe your Persona in action." Unknowing of the mental gymnastics going through the younger girl's head, Mitsuru issued another directive as Minato and Akihiko spread out to find another Shadow that didn't run from the mere sight of them.

This was the one thing that Midori worried about. She had been told about the basics of how to use an Evoker, and how she was supposed to make shooting oneself work with how Frost was supposed to be invoked was something she had spent far too much time thinking about. That her COMP was still a glorified paperweight just made everything all the more unintuitive.

But she had come to a solution. It made a certain amount of poetic sense, and that appealed to her. Put Frosty in the shirt pocket over her heart and under her jacket. Cross her heart and hope to die! Wasn't that how the English saying went?

They had to ascend a couple more floors to finally find a Shadow that didn't vanish into the aether at their presence. Midori once again led the way into battle, expertly flicking her club at a demon that Fuuka's voice told her wasn't weak to either of Frosty's elements. Minato blocked the return strike from the Maya-type Shadow (she still wasn't used to identifying things by Arcana, occasionally lapsing into a more Demon-centric view) and then it was time.

Midori pulled her Evoker from the holster around her leg and placed it over her heart. Not caring that she hadn't practised this at all, her only thought before pulling the trigger was that she wanted her first time to be something special. "_BLACK FROST_!" The trigger was pulled and a flash of pain sliced through her, dropping her to one knee, face red and gasping for breath. But her deception worked and from her back a mini-swirl of power spun out and above her into the form of Frosty. It landed, hopped up and down and looked at the Shadows while reading Midori's intent.

_Agialo!_ Fire burst into existence as Midori felt herself drained by the effort, the familiar feeling of casting magic a comfort as she stood up again. The fire lanced through the Shadow, destroying it instantly. Without waiting to pull the trigger on her Evoker again, she pointed dramatically at the last Maya. "Frosty! _Bufula_!" Shards of ice impaled the Shadow, killing it off as well. The fight over, she gave her Persona a high-five before it returned to card form in her jacket.

**13 September 2009  
****Minatodai Dorm, 4th Floor Control Room  
****Evening**

Fuuka groaned, folding herself over to cup her head in her hands. "She makes less and less sense!" Yukari offered a consoling pat on the back as the rest of the meeting came to order. Everyone was there save Ken, Koromaru and Midori. They had needed a distraction to keep the subject of their conversation away from the meeting and Koro had taken it upon himself to demand that Midori take him for a walk and Ken had volunteered to go with them.

"So she's got a... a whatchamacallit... A 'Well Developed Persona'. How odd is that, really?" Junpei had such a nice afternoon with Chidori, and she was opening up to him slowly. The smile on his face refused to leave, no matter what.

"Odd enough." Shinjiro commented from where he leaned against one of the book shelves.

Ticking off her fingers, Yukari began to summarize everything. "So, let's see. She's got a powerful Persona without being a Wild Card," she glared at Minato. "Maybe. She can also keep it out for more than a couple seconds. Possibly as long as Fuuka can, while being far more active. Oh, and she uses her Evoker on her heart instead of her head."

Akihko offered an answer to that last one. "It seems to me that she's the kind of person who thinks and acts with her heart, not her mind. It's no stretch of the imagination that she'd consider her heart to be the seat of her soul and thus the target of her Evoker." Shinji's grunt showed he didn't put too much stock in what Akihiko said, but he wasn't willing to fight it either.

"I did go looking into her past, and the only thing that really stands out was the Tokyo Terror." Fuuka tried to get the conversation back on track. It was just so easy to fall into random tangents where Midori was concerned, even when she wasn't around.

"Explain, Yamagishi." Mitsuru also wanted things under control and took the opportunity offered.

Tapping on her laptop, Fuuka recited the relevant summaries. "Her statements are on file, in both the police and SDF servers. She was in one of her costumes when the lock down happened. Over the next several days, she and some other teenagers tried to keep order inside the contaminated area while avoiding the effects of the toxins released by the Shomonkai cult. There are several reports of violence, including confirmed SDF reports on the fifth and sixths days where she was fighting other people to maintain the integrity of the lock down."

"A history of violence?" Akihiko seemed almost worried.

"No. Not a history. But with the general lack of order, she may have been in the thick of things." Fuuka tapped at the keyboard some more. "However, the medical reports from the afternoon and evening of the seventh day seem to indicate that Midori-san was on the verge of a psychological breakdown due to the stress." If she felt any guilt at prying into such private things, Fuuka didn't show it. "For several days during the Terror and afterwards, she would lapse into a 'Dolly' persona as a protective measure against the things she had seen and done inside the Yamanote Circle."

"Wait." Junpei jumped in. "I know she's enthusiastic, but are you telling us that not only is she cute, but she's crazy-cute?" His assesment was bluntly delivered. "Damn. Too good to be true."

Akihiko buried his own concerns. "I'm not going to complain about a person who is willing to go into Tartarus with us. She knows the risks, intellectually speaking."

"I watched her go to her counsellor's meeting earlier this week." Minato offered, not sure where he was going with his line of thought. "Is that something we should be wary of? If she accidentally talks about the Dark Hour?"

Mitsuru nodded. "I have already thought of that, and have taken preventative steps."

Aigis, silent until that point, offered her own opinion. "I have observed that Midori-san's interaction with her Persona is one of familiarity. Perhaps it is fashioned after what would be called an 'imaginary friend'?"

The others mulled this over. "It would make sense." Minato suggested, hoping to recover from his slip earlier. "If she projected her trauma into the imaginary 'Black Frost', when she awoke to her power of Persona, it took up that form? It would explain why she's so interactive with it. It's more like a puppet, acting out what she expects of it and because of her" – he almost said 'traumatic' – "experiences, she has a greater sense of it than any of us? That Black Frost is... _real_ to her in a way that we can't comprehend?"

Mitsuru nodded. The logic seemed sound. "That leaves only one question though. If her persona is the result of her traumatic experiences in August, then will treating her and helping her heal adversely affect her Persona?"

**Naganaki Shrine**

Midori sat at the top of the slide, Ken and Koromaru playing around the base of the playground equipment. Enjoying the experience of seeing a calm world and its peaceful days from on high, she barely noticed when Ken tied Koromaru's leash to one of the legs of the slide and began to climb up.

She noticed when he reached the top and she slid over to let him sit beside her. "So..." she began, "how long have you been living there?"

"A couple months now." He rubbed his hands together in the early autumn chill and Midori took them in hers to help warm them up. "Um, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure!"

Ken paused. Her eager response pulled at the question he wanted to ask her. He had wanted to since he had found out about her guiding principles in life, and now the words just couldn't come to him.

He wanted so much to ask her if it was alright, what he wanted to do, to gain vindication or perhaps justification for his dream.

Looking up at her, smiling like there was nothing wrong with the world, he found that he couldn't. He couldn't give his burden to anyone else.

"No. It's nothing."

Midori was many things, but stupid wasn't one of them. She read his doubts in his face and knew then that she shouldn't pry into what he really wanted to ask her. Somehow she knew she would find out eventually, but for now, there was no need to rush into things.

She had left her peaceful days behind. It would be enough to survive.


	5. 14 Sept 2009 to 19 Sept 2009

**14 September 2009**

**Gekkoukan High School, Classroom 1-B**

**Lunch**

"Please give me your autograph!" A boy a year older than Midori bowed deeply as he held out a picture of her. Looking up from her lunchbox, she slurped up the last of the noodles hanging from her mouth before putting on her Dolly mask.

She held out her hand, a huge grin on her face and he filled it with a thousand-yen bill before she scribbled her name on the offered picture and kissed it for good measure. The admirer backed out of the room, bowing once again before closing the door.

"That disturbs me, how quickly you can shift from Midori to Dolly and back." Chihiro said as she looked down at the food she no longer felt like eating. "I mean, I've seen actors on TV and on stage. It's just a skill that I've never seen up close like that before."

Midori leaned back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling of their classroom. "Think of it like this." She held the newly acquired bill in her hands over her head. "You have a person's real face, their real 'me'." She pulled the money down over her face, hiding her eyes behind the paper. "Then you simply pull down the mask that people want to see and let them see it. Understand?"

Chihiro tried. She honestly did. She got the concept of the mask, anyone who had seen proper theatre did. What she couldn't get was how Midori was presenting it. It wasn't like she was putting on a role, but rather changing who she was when confronted by different people.

Then she remembered where she had come from, and the regular appointments Midori still had. It was time to change the subject before it became even more uncomfortable for her to think about. "So, decided on clubs yet?"

Midori groaned and sank down in her chair, burying her face in her hands. "Please, don't remind me. Mitsuru-senpai was hounding me all morning. I was doing other stuff and it sort of slipped my mind."

She knew she wasn't the smartest person ever, but over the past week she had been looking into the people of SEES. Or at least the ones who went to school here. It was easy enough to get information about Mitsuru and Akihiko. They had _fanclubs_, Akihiko especially. She learned far more about those two than she ever wanted to know. Shinjiro wasn't talked about. Aigis was supposedly like her, a Tokyo transfer, and thus, due to her 'exotic nature' even more popular than she was.

Dolly refused to be jealous.

Junpei, Yukari and Minato all did more in the sports side of things (Baseball, Archery and Kendo respectively), and she was in the process of worming her way into the right social circles. She supposed it made sense. The physical activity of the sports clubs complimented the physical activities of the Dark Hour well.

"Fine! Tennis!" She said loudly as she fumbled at her glasses while standing up. "Oh wait." She sat back down again. "I also need a Culture Club."

"Tennis? You mean the one run by Rio? Um, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Huh? Why?"

"Well, she's... kinda a bitch. She's driven away most of the club membership already and it's almost to the point where the President or Vice President will have to step in."

Midori ran this through her head. "So...?"

"I just don't think it's a good idea for you to go into that club."

"I'm no stranger to working hard. And I've had to deal with annoying people before. If it turns out you're right, I'll apologize then." She shrugged. "Still need a Culture Club."

There, Chihiro had constructive input. "What about the Fashion Club?"

"The what now?"

"I'd thought you know. It's the one Arisato-san is in, as well as that Foreign Exchange student, Bebe I think his name is. They make clothes and the like."

"WHY DID I NOT KNOW THIS?"

**Outside the Teacher's Lounge**

**After School**

Midori and Aigis bowed as they left the lounge, the necessary paperwork to join the clubs filled in. At some point after lunch, she had been tagged by Yukari to help Aigis with her own selections. Given the robot-girl's nature, it seemed to Midori that she had been given a job that Mitsuru had given to Yukari.

She had quickly tracked down the Student Council President with Aigis in tow and had a quick conference for the three of them. The risks in revealing Aigis' true nature were too great, so Mitsuru had pulled strings to give her a pass on joining a sports club. The reasoning given was that Aigis was still recovering from long-term effects of some of the gasses and other agents spread around by the Shomankai Cult during their attacks on the populace.

As the only person in the room to have actually been there for the 'Terror Attacks', Midori kept her mouth shut as the two of them built up their own lies on top of other lies. Even without her promise to Igor, she wouldn't have tried to correct the two of them about the real nature of the Attacks.

Anyways, it seemed like Aigis simply didn't _get_ the idea of Culture Clubs, so Midori threw out a suggestion in haste. "Why doesn't she join the Student Council in some fashion? Like Minato, but more formally?"

Mitsuru jumped on the idea immediately. She felt she had many uses for Aigis, in addition to the help Minato gave. This only gave Midori more ammunition for her developing opinion that the Bufu user was an unrelenting control freak. It was a developing feeling that just kept irking her more and more.

Neither club she signed on for had meetings today, so she was free this afternoon. While there were many things she wanted to do with her time, she instead turned around from the Teacher's lounge and headed for the Library across the hall. Aigis had her own things to do, so they parted amicably. So many mythological figures to research, so little time.

**Minatodai Dormitory, 1****st**** Floor Lounge**

**Evening**

"Fuuka-chan!" Midori leaned over the edge of the couch that her target was sitting on. "I need to borrow you for a bit."

Fuuka paused what she was doing and looked up in confusion at the smiling and extroverted newbie. "What for?"

"ooh... I need your help with something. You see, my camcorder is on the fritz. I'm getting this weird red/green splice along the left and right edges of the video, and the centre is a bit off by the yellow. I think maybe the camera got damaged in the move? Well, I need it working for my next update, and a second opinion would be nice."

"Did you check the RGB cable?"

Midori rolled her eyes. "Second thing I did. Look, come on up to my room, please?"

Curious as to the exact uses Midori would have for such a thing, and not really trusting her distracted junior to be able to diagnose simple electronics, Fuuka had to agree to help. "I'll be up in a minute. I just have to finish something here first." She pointed at her own computer.

"Alright!" Midori bounced back, then towards the staircase. "I'll leave the door open!"

Fuuka turned her attention back to her online chat.

_Fuu-cha: Sorry, dorm-mate asked for help with something._

_At-low: No worries. You were saying?_

_Fuu-cha: I had a look at the code you provided me. There's a lot of stuff here I don't get._

_At-low: Not surprising. When you have time, could you see what you can scrap from the stuff you don't get?_

_At-low: The problem is I know what everything is used for, so I'm having problems separating out the stuff I want to keep from everything else._

_Fuu-cha: I know the problem._

_Fuu-cha: I'll look at things later, but this seems to be designed for COMP architechture._

_Fuu-cha: That dorm-mate I told you about? She has a COMP that's bricked._

_At-low: It was. Is._

_Fuu-cha: I may be able to wipe her firmware and test this on that._

_At-low: WAIT._

_At-low: WAIT_

_At-low: WAIT_

_Fuu-cha: ?_

_At-low: A Bricked COMP? Were they in Tokyo?_

_Fuu-cha: Yes_

_At-low: DON'T TOUCH IT_

_At-low: SERIOUS_

_Fuu-cha: ?_

_At-low: I wish I could explain._

_Fuu-cha: ..._

_Fuu-cha: I'll trust you._

_Fuu-cha: Komaki will be disappointed. I promised to have a look at it._

_At-low: Komaki_

_At-low: Komaki Midori? Dolly?_

_Fuu-cha: You know of her?_

_At-low: I know she moved away, but into your dorm?_

_At-low: wow_

_*At-low bows formally. "I apologize for her behaviour."_

_Fuu-cha: ?_

_At-low: I met her in Tokyo during that week._

_At-low: So I felt I had to apologize on her behalf for the things_

_At-low: she's done._

_Fuu-cha: She's not that bad._

_At-low: You didn't have her hanging around every day for days on end._

_Fuu-cha: Um..._

_At-low: Look, you have other things to do. So do I/_

_At-low: Talk to you later._

_*At-low has disconnected_

Fuuka closed her laptop, confused. Midori knew a high class cracker like At-low? How? He mentioned Tokyo... Perhaps she had gotten him to help her out?

**3****rd**** Floor, Midori's Room**

Fuuka knocked politely at the door that was across from hers. "Midori-san?"

"Come in!"

Fuuka pushed open the door and instantly found resistance. "Um...!"

"Oh! Sorry!" She could hear the sounds of stuff being shoved around and pushed aside. "There! Come on in!'

The door slowly opening, Fuuka took her first look inside Midori's room. The first thought she had was that she had walked into a war zone, such was the state of the mess. It was hard for her to inventory everything as she slowly entered. She did see that the table was cluttered, but the large computer tower had enough space around it to slide a keyboard in beside it.

The dresser was over full, cloth and clothes hanging out from the drawers and piled up beside it. Thankfully, the dirty clothes were all in their proper hamper. In the same vein, the foot of the bed was covered in fractions of clothes in states of partial make or unmake.

A purple dress hung from a mannequin, and upon closer inspection, she could see that it was damaged. Not in the wear-and-tear sense of damage, but in the measure that there was burn marks on it, as well as slashes and other holes in it.

What finally drew her attention was the stage. It was a cloth backdrop with a pair of professional lights pointed back at it, and a camera on a tripod with wires running back to the computer.

"Hey, sorry about the mess." Midori said from her clear stage area. "Come on over. I checked the cables again, and nothing seems to be the problem there."

Fuuka sat at the table, looking at the computer in front of her. "What video card are you using?"

"_Hey! It's DOLLY!_

_I'm sooooooooooooo sooooooooooory this took so long! My poor camera got hurt and I had to get a nice friend to help me! Everyone, say 'HI!' to Fuuka-chan! And say 'Hello' Fuuka!"_

"Midori! I don't want to be on camera!"

"_Toooo...late! You have fans now!"_

"Turn it off!"

"_Sorry, it seems like Fuuka is too shy. You should all thank her for her help!_

_Anyways, do you guys like my school uniform? Isn't it cool and cute? I think it is! Gekkoukan High sure knows how to treat their students right!_

_But I promised to show off my dorm, so let's get this show on the road!"_

**4****th**** Floor, Control Room**

**Evening**

"AND NO ONE THOUGHT TO STOP HER?" Yukari yelled, causing Fuuka to wince and Shinjiro to shake his head sadly.

Mitsuru missed the point. "It is an accurate primer as to the layout of the dormitory, and it does not enter any sensitive areas like this room or Aigis' room." On the screen, Midori's video showed her talking to Junpei. The young man now had his head buried in his hands, muttering that he was doomed. "I don't see the problem."

"THE!" Yukari tripped over herself. What Midori had done was wrong, she knew this. But she just couldn't put it into words properly. "Oh! Never mind. I'll talk to her myself!"

"It's hard to resist her when she gets going like that." Fuuka shamefully admitted as Yukari stormed out of the office. I mean, she knows her stuff, both from a technical and production stance. Her equipment is excellent, and she has an eye for the details."

"So... what then?" Shinji sighed. "I got better things to do than to mediate between two girls who seem to have a difference of opinion about something or other. I'm outta here."

"Before you leave," Mitsuru called out, "do you have any leads on the medication Chidori needs?"

"I'm working on it." The older man grumbled, not caring one whit what the crazy girl did as long as she didn't bother him. He had better things to do with his time, like practice cooking.

**16 September 2009**

**Minatodai Dorm, 3rd Floor, Midori's Room**

**Early Morning**

Yukari knocked on the door, then waited for her junior to rouse herself. True to form, Midori opened her door while dressed in her blue-with-white mascot pyjamas and sans glasses. "mrgle?" Her brain was still in 'wakeup' mode, and it was this frame of mind that Yukari hoped to exploit.

"Hey. Um, you see, the culture fair is coming up and my class decided to do this Maid Cafe thing. Well, I got my costume, but it kinda doesn't fit right. I was hoping you could help..."

Midori slammed the door shut in Yukari's face, stunning the brunette. Before she had a chance to process this and recover enough to raise her objections to this treatment, Midori ripped open the door again, this time with her glasses on, and a sewing kit in her hands. "It's in your room, right?"

"Well yes, but..!" Yukari was forcibly twisted around by Midori and marched back to her room. "I didn't mean right now!"

"You woke me up! This is your magical punishment!"

"Magical..! Midori!" Yukari led her into her room where she had laid out the dress on the bed. "There it is."

"Let me guess, you bought it from a store, right?"

"Yes..."

"Then they obviously got it wrong. When you send in measurements, they don't make exact sizes, but send you the one that is closest to your size they've got mass produced." Midori sighed, slumping her shoulders. "I hate that. Now strip."

"WHAT?"

"I need your measurements." Midori spun around on her heel to face Yukari. "Now you can keep your bra and panties on, but the rest has to come off." She pulled a measuring tape from her kit. "Now, how soon does this need to be done?"

"I thought you knew, the Culture Fair is on the 20th."

"I got a pass from my class. They're doing that food thing, and so I'm just helping out in the background." She took Yukari's clothes, laying them down on the bed. "This will just take a minute for the initial measurements."

Yukari's morning got worse.

**1****st**** Floor, Lounge**

**Afternoon**

"The Typhoon is expected to reach shores sometime..." Shinjiro clicked off the news, causing Koromaru to look up at him in confusion.

"Don't look at me like that. Storm's coming, so we'll have to do some shopping to tide us over the weekend it looks like." With the mention of food, the dog instantly changed his opinion from disappointment to approval. He set about finding his leash while Shinjiro grabbed the Dorm's expense card that he had been given for such occasions.

At the door, he set his coat and scowl on, ready for the world. Opening the door, he startled the person who was standing there. Midori, with one hand on her key to the front door and the other carrying her sports supplies for her club.

Grunting, he stepped out of her way to let her in. "Where you going?" she asked as she kicked off her shoes and glared defiantly at the stairs she would have to drag her stuff up and down every day for the rest of the school year.

"Shopping." No sense in lying to her, lest Aki start to worry.

"Excellent! I'm coming too!" Midori promptly dropped her stuff off to one side and went for her shoes again. "I have to buy some stuff for Yukari's thing."

"Then go by yourself." Shinji moved to leave when Midori jumped past him, squeezing out the door before he did.

"What? And leave a cute innocent girl like me to wander the streets with the Lost out there?" She turned on the charm, putting her hands to her chins and pouting a little, the attempt at moe completely lost on the older man.

The desire for privacy lost out to to the practicality of not having her hound him all the way around the city. "Fine. You're carrying your own stuff."

**Monorail**

"We don't talk." Midori said as Shinji stood while she sat on the crowded public transport. "I mean, we say hello and all that, but of everyone else, I haven't gotten to really talk to you."

"Not much to say." Shinji turned on the anti-social body language to full, inadvertently clearing a small circle of empty space around him. Annoyingly, this only seemed to fuel her desire to pry, and she leaned into his circle of privacy.

"So, shopping? What for?"

No sense in lying if he was going to get her to carry stuff. "I thought I told you. Food."

"Oh? I knew you cooked, but you shopped as well? That's awesome! I love it when you cook!"

A pang pushed through his heart, and Shinjiro turned away from her. "Nothing special."

"Nothing special?! You're an awesome cook!"

"No, I'm not." On even Aki, that would be the end of the conversation, but Midori had no sense for such things.

"Yes!"

"Really? Then what's the worst meal you've ever had?" He wasn't sure why he asked that, but it was enough to try and buy him time to extract himself from this, carrying help be damned.

Midori answered instantly, her voice flat and devoid of inflection. "A fourth of an emergency ration pack airdropped by the government into the Yamanote Circle, with a half-cup of stale water, in the sun."

Shinji didn't know how to respond to that. He recalled that things had apparently gotten bad, with fights in the contaminated area of Tokyo, but that? "Never really had home cooking, either?"

She shook her head. "Never learned. Dad was too busy, but had enough we could get takeout, or the stuff you heat up."

Shinji reviewed this information. She wasn't about to let him go, and he wanted her to shut up. A deal had to be struck. "Alright. You keep quiet, I'll let you help me cook, teach you some of the basics. You don't pry, you don't try to wheedle anything out of me, and we'll be just fine. Fine?" He had no idea why he was offering to share his kitchen, except maybe the smallest amount of sympathy for someone who apparently never had a good home cooked meal in her life.

**18 September 2009**

**Minatodai Dormitory, 1st Floor Lounge**

**Evening**

Midori made no effort to conceal her opinion of the torrential downpour. The typhoon had struck hard and apparently Minato was still caught outside. Part of her wondered if he had remembered to bring his umbrella with him to school in the morning.

Well, the weather was just the cause of her complaining. She had finished fixing up Yukari's maid outfit, and she was far too proud of her skills to not try and get it on camera. Except now the weather had gone and fouled everything up, there would be no Culture Festival, and her plans to record the event for posterity went down the drain.

Oh, and it turns out she's a horrible cook. Who knew?

**19 September 2009**

**Minatodai Dorm, 2nd Floor**

**Morning**

Junpei emerged from his friend's room into the waiting gazes of the rest of SEES. "Fever, still asleep. Yep, he's sick alright."

Mitsuru pulled out a phone. "I'll call an ambulance."

Junpei shook his head and Akihiko took the phone from her before she could get past the first digit, handing it over to Aigis, who in turn examined the device curiously. "Let him sleep. If his fever doesn't break by tomorrow morning, we'll get a doctor. Until then, we'll check in on him every hour or so, and just wait."

"Am I the only one who was actually looking forward to going to Tartarus tomorrow night? And now we can't because of the weather?" Midori grumbled from beside Fuuka.

"Yes." It didn't really matter who said that.


	6. 19 Sept 2009 to 23 Sept 2009

**19 September 2009  
****Minatodai Dorm, 3rd Floor Women's Bath  
****Morning**

Less than twelve hours into being rained on, and the cabin fever as a result of the constant patter of rain on the windows and walls, the howling gusts of wind, the rising humidity and the inability to simply _go outside_ left Midori short tempered.

"Why don't you take a hot bath?" Mitsuru finally suggested in a tone that was no suggestion at all. Privately Midori agreed with her senior's suggestion, and figured at the very least it would get the others out of her hair for a while.

In the privacy of the bath, she had decided that the first thing to do after tying up her hair was to scrub. One of the subjects she did feel comfortable in talking with her shrink about was the desire to be clean. He had replied that it was completely normal as she was feeling that by divesting herself of the physical grime she had accumulated over the week, she could also divest herself of the mental anxieties. He pointed out many cultures with such purification rituals, but Midori didn't heed his words.

He knew nothing. She wasn't washing away the dirt.

Sitting on the wooden stool in front of the shower head, she took the scrub brush in her right hand and began to furiously work at her left arm. The soap and friction peeled off not just the sweat and grime, but as she worked up from her hands to her shoulders, began to remove the layer of makeup that she hid under her clothes.

Wrist. Forearm, elbow. Upper arm, shoulder. Neck. She switched to a softer brush as she scrubbed the makeup off her face. Then she began to work on her body, carefully removing every inch of the disguise she kept on even when she slept.

Rinsing the last of it down the drain, Midori breathed deeply. She had to admit that it was an effective means of relaxing her body. Of course, she would be even more relaxed once she took a nice long soak in the tub. Stretching, she examined herself in the mirror, satisfied with the progression of her recovery.

Making sure the pins holding her hair were still in place, Midori slipped into the steaming bath, enjoying the sensations as her muscles began to loosen. She would have to thank Mitsuru for her suggestion as she floated gently in the water, her eyes beginning to drop, and her body soon following her mind to sleep.

Yukari knocked on the door to the bath, shifting the towels in her other arm. The suggestion to Midori had taken up a chord with the other girls in the dorm, and she had won out over Fuuka in the last to take the next private bath.

Aigis and Koromaru stood guard at the bottom of the stairs, making absolutely sure that no male even dreamed of looking up into heaven. Junpei had been repulsed once, having claimed that he simply wanted to go to the roof to check things out there, but Aigis had firmly rebuffed him. No one else had been foolish enough, which sent a shiver of disappointment and thrill through her.

"Midori? You done in there?" She knocked again, receiving no answer. Now certain that the youngest of the 3rd floor residents had simply fallen asleep, she carefully opened the door and slipped inside. Quickly divesting herself of everything she didn't need in the inner section of the bath, Yukari knocked again for the expected non-answer. Sighing at the necessity of waking Midori up, she opened the last door and waved away the drifting steam from the heated bath.

She was right. She could hear Midori's soft snoring from the tub, her head held above water by the short length of the washtub and the bundled hair acting as an impromptu catch on the wooden lip. It was enough that she almost wished she could let Midori sleep for as long as she wanted. But such was not to be as she wanted to enjoy a hot bath herself and there wasn't enough room for two people at once.

Kneeling down, she moved to gently touch Midori when her hand stopped the barest fraction from her skin. Instead of the smooth surface she had expected, her hands had stopped over the scar tissue that ran up along her arm to her shoulder.

Frightened curiosity compelled her to pull back and take a real good look at the sleeping girl in her moment of weakness. What she saw curdled her stomach. A web of scars and pockmarks ran up along the left side of Midori's body. The backs of her arms – crossed over her – held many thin white lines. Her inventory stopped as she fell back, a look of horror on her face.

As quietly as she could, she fled the room, stopping to wrap herself in a towel first. Once out in the hall, she turned the corner and forced herself to not bang hard on Mitsuru's door. Instead she knocked quite insistently until Mitsuru, herself getting ready to enjoy her own personal soak, opened the door.

Quickly Yukari explained what she had seen and Mitsuru's brow furrowed. "I was aware that she had lingering injuries and some of the effects from that, but what you describe is not what I envisioned."

The two returned to the bathroom and it was Mitsuru's turn to have her knocks ignored in favour of the sleeping girl's dreams. "Wait here" the older said to the younger as she entered the inner room. "KOMAKI! How long do you plan to sleeping? Others would like their turn!"

Yukari heard a surprised squawk, then the sounds of Midori loudly apologizing and gathering up her things before rushing past Yukari, towel hastily wrapped around her. Mitsuru followed behind slowly. "I saw what you saw. I agree that it seemed excessive. I'll check in with her physician to see if its something we should be worried about."

"Yeah. Thanks." Yukari was left alone in the bath as it slowly drained away. "Not exactly what I wanted," she added, muttering. "Oh well, bath first. Midori's latest mystery later."

Yukari walked up to Fuuka's door and knocked. "Your turn!" She waited for the teal haired girl to round the corner to the bath before crossing the hallway. She knocked on Midori's door quietly. "Midori?"

"I'm not decent!" The reply was quick and emphatic.

"Not decent-decent? Or not 'I haven't covered my arm' decent?"

Silence descended. "None of your business." Midori finally replied through her closed door.

Yukari rolled her eyes. It could never be this easy. "Midori. I'm not... I just want to help."

"It'll heal on its own!"

"Not that!"

"Just go away! This doesn't concern you! I can handle it just fine by myself!"

"I'm not letting go of this, Midori! Now I can go in there and help, or you can come to my room!" She shuddered, remembering the horror stories that Fuuka had passed along to her in private. Better that they do this in her room, not Midori's.

The door opened, and the focus of her current attention peeked around the edge. "What do you mean, 'help'?"

"Now that I think about it, you're putting too much on. I can help with that." The words shot out of her mouth before she could stop them but it seemed like Midori was taking the offer seriously. She closed the door with a hasty "wait here!" and Yukari hoped it was a good sign.

It was. Midori opened the door again, this time dressed in a simple purple sundress that bared her entire arm to the first legitimate scrutiny Yukari could give it. In her other hand was obviously her personal makeup kit.

"Come on." Yukari led the two of them to her own room where she sat Midori down on the chair in front of her dresser. "Let me see." Partly annoyed, and partly wondering how the older girl could help, Midori raised up her scarred arm for closer inspection. "How did you get this?"

Midori suppressed the truth. "I got my arm covered in angry wasps on the last day. It looked a lot worse then."

Yukari's imagination kicked into overdrive imagining the young girl in front of her covered in a swarm of angry insects. The image was one of revulsion, but she had to give her credit for taking it in stride. "Yeesh. Alright, we obviously don't need to cover up everything. Let's try something here. What are you normally using?"

**1****st**** Floor, Dining Room  
****Evening**

Midori was a lot calmer at supper than she was earlier. She had shrugged a long sleeved shirt over her dress and not one of the three who knew made mention of her condition. Humming happily, she scooped large portions of salad onto her plate.

Junpei came down, shaking his head. "I think his fever has broken. Just need to let him sleep for now."

Akihiko nodded in understanding. "I take it Aigis is still watching over him then?"

"Like a puppy."

The rest had their meal in silence, the pattering rain all the sound they needed.

**20 September 2009  
****1st Floor, Lounge  
****Morning**

Midori, Ken and Koromaru all sat side by side in rapt attention as the latest episode of Featherman R came on. Behind them, Shinjiro tried impatiently to wait for the show to end so he could watch his program, but as he learned so painfully last week, getting in the way of these three was a painful experience.

**Afternoon**

Midori tuned out Tanaka's show as she sketched on her pad. The coloured pencils scratched against the paper, leaving behind lines of colour that in her mind were fabrics, complete with folds and stitching. Ken had gone off to take Koromaru for a walk, and Junpei had gone to visit his not-girlfriend.

In all, that left her, Shinji, Aigis and Minato in the Dorm.

She was so focused on her design work that she didn't notice that Shinjiro had vanished form the couch they shared. She did, however, notice when he dropped a kitchen apron on her head. "Get it on. Time for another lesson. And try not to burn anything this time, please?"

Her internal debate between sketching designs and cooking practice was settled by a grumble from her stomach. "Did I miss lunch?"

Shinjiro smirked. "Yep. Time to earn your food."

**21 September 2009  
****2nd Floor, Minato's Room  
****Early Morning**

He woke up refreshed and full of vitality. Then he looked at the clock.

"ALL WEEKEND?!" In his panic, he threw on something to wear and dashed out the door, only to run into Aigis. "Why didn't you wake me! I've go things to do!"

Aigis spun around to keep up with the manic moving Minato. "Wait. I must take your temperature."

"No time!" Minato cried out as he rounded the corner to go downstairs. "I've got friendships to keep up!"

Aigis tried to understand just why Minato was so fervent in developing and advancing all his personal relationships.

Then he dashed back up the stairs. "Hey! Tell Fuuka we're going to Tartarus tonight!"

And then he was gone again.

Aigis walked back to the stairs as she heard a commotion from below. Apparently Minato's attempt at a quick exit had been thwarted and Junpei was now marching him back up to the second floor.

"I don't care how much you want to pay your respects to the old folks today, even I think you stink." A whine from Koromaru gave agreement to the sentiment. "Now, clean up. Then I can let you out without someone else killing me for it."

Aigis watched all of this in silence. Then satisfied that Minato was well, she went back to her normal routine.

**Tartarus  
****The Dark Hour**

Midori didn't like sitting around and she paced around the edge of the circular room a dozen times, keeping pace with the clock that struck the beginning and the end of the Dark Hour. So far she had managed to keep one full counter-clockwise lap to every apparent 56 seconds.

Ken, Koromaru and Yukari joined Minato upstairs, and while the intellectual part of her understood rotating teammates around so everyone got practice (she remembered sitting out early on the last day so Gin, Mari, Frosty and Izuma all got their turn), the dominant part of her mind demanded that they all ascend as a group.

As she made her umpteenth pass by the front door, a solution presented itself in the form of Mitsuru and Fuuka. At the moment she stopped orbiting the room, Fuuka evoked Lucia to support the team upstairs and so Midori tossed talking to her out of her mind and went for Mitsuru instead. "I have a couple questions" she said as soon as she had her attention.

"Of course. Ask." Mitsuru openly invited Midori to ask her questions so that she could answer them.

"Thank you. First. Why only four people at once? Why not five, or even more?"

"It has been determined that four is the optimal number of people to ascend at once without getting in each others way." Her answer was short and direct.

"Actually, I think there's a bit more to it than that." Akihiko offered from where he was shadow boxing. "When we first started seriously exploring Tartarus earlier in the year, it was just Minato, Yukari, Junpei, Mitsuru and myself. Mitsuru stayed down here to provide scanning and support while the other four of us went up. Even after more people joined, we just kept sending four people up at a time due to tradition."

Midori expressed her surprise. "Hold on. You can do that scan and telepathy thing too?"

"Yes." Mitsuru tilted her head at Fuuka, still ensconced in Lucia. "However, Yamagishi and Lucia is far more powerful at it than I and Penthesilea, and so I gave those responsibilities to Yamagishi, moving to the climbing team."

"Huh." Midori thought about that before coming up with no answers at all, nor any pertinent followups. "Second question, then; why not multiple teams?"

Fuuka answered from within Lucia. "I can only focus on one group at a time. Especially at this distance. At the height the team is at, Mitsuru-senpai cannot use her Persona to support a second team."

Her response was immediate. "So, why don't we re-base closer to the top? I know the fixed floors where the elevator stops stay clear after we take out the Floor Guardian, so that way we're closer to helping Minato and the others."

"Death." Mitsuru said. "There is an entity that roams the halls of Tartarus, one that can't come down to the lobby. We call it that based on our impressions of it, scanning it from this distance. It is something we avoid fighting as it is far more powerful than us." She sighed. "If we did as you suggest, then staying in one place for so long would risk it finding us. We can't take that risk.

"Oh. Sorry." Midori's disappointment was obvious and Mitsuru moved to offer comforting words.

"It's a good thing you're taking a positive interest in SEES. Unlike some other people I could name." Mitsuru sent a glare right at Junpei, whom despite facing the wrong way, cringed at the action. "If you have further questions for helping SEES in the future, or for improvements, please do not hesitate to raise them."

Midori gleamed in joy, and Mitsuru wondered if she had made a mistake.

**Minatodai Dorm, 4****th**** Floor Control Room**

Ikutsuki had long since taken to using the Dark Hour as the proverbial '25th hour in a day' to do paperwork. He had often joked about it to people not in the know, and those who were aware often did the same thing.

He was glad that SEES was at Tartarus, for he had finally gotten a package from the Tokyo branch of the Kirijo group, one that he had been waiting for over a month for. Opening the brown paper package, he slid out a large stack of papers as well as the most surprising thing he could have expected. A COMP came with everything else, and he set it aside to look at the cover letter.

It was poorly written, obviously hand written on some rough surface in pencil. The symbols were sometimes hard to make out, but in the end he could decipher them.

Honda, the man he sent into the Tokyo Lockdown to investigate the Shomankai and the reports of 'demons' had died on the sixth day while attempting to escape the SDF lockdown, leaving behind a dead son and a doubly grieving wife.

On the table was all that he had compiled as part of his report, a safe drop in case his attempt to escape failed.

Picking up the first sheet, Ikutsuki began to read.

**22 September 2009  
****Minatodai Dorm, 1st Floor Lounge  
****Early Morning**

"This is unexpected." Mitsuru commented dryly as Ikutsuki pulled on his jacket. "Usually, you have more warning before being called away."

Shuji shrugged. "We can't all choose the time of our timing." He grimaced. The joke was bad, even by his standards. "There are some things I need to address directly in Tokyo. So I'm leaving you in charge until I return."

**23 September 2009  
****Tokyo, Yamanote Circle, Eiji Bar  
****Afternoon**

They had all agreed to meet here and now, it was simple enough to arrange. Gin's place was chosen both for its location and that he owned the place. It was, due to the venue, an adults only meeting.

Gin raised the glass he was cleaning in greeting to Mari Mochizuki, the first arrival. The doctor smiled and waved back, finding an offered seat along the bar proper. She looked around at the empty place and took the offered tonic water. "First one, I see."

Nodding, Gin went back to his cleaning. "Most of the salarymen have gone already, and it's too soon for the after-work crowd."

"How's business?"

"Actually pretty good. I didn't get trashed by any rioters, so that allowed me to open right back up one we got permission." He looked up at the next arrival, his face darkening. "Hello."

Kaido, shoulders slouched glanced back and forth as he entered the bar, his gaze looking for signs of hostility and threat. "Yo." When he saw Mari, his countenance brightened a bit. She turned to look at him, then back away, hiding her disgust. At this, he stopped. "Hey, you want me to leave, I will. I know I'm not in your good graces."

The doctor shook her head. "No, no. I was the one that made sure you were invited, Have a seat. But no alcohol." The leader of the Tokyo Demons cautiously sat in the indicated seat and didn't flinch when Gin slammed a glass of milk in front of him.

They drank in silence until the third arrived, the last one who promised to make it to the meeting. "I'm sorry I'm late," Lieutenant Izuna said as she hung her jacket on the coat rack by the door. "There were some complications I had to work through before getting here."

"No worries." Gin said as the SDF officer took a seat beside Mari, and on the other side of the gang leader. "We were just enjoying our drinks. What's your poison?"

"I'm headed back to work after this, so water please."

Gin tsk'd at the request. "Oh, poor me! A bar whose patrons don't order alcohol!" He smiled. "So, what's the word from on high?"

Izuna looked around the bar. "I'm sorry Harusawa isn't here. Anyways, the coverup is proceeding within predictions. The Shomankai, or what's left of them, aren't contesting our version of events. Cleanup is still going to take years to finish, and the politicians are dithering over money."

There was a round of angry murmurs from the assembled adults.

"The hospital is still at 115% official capacity." Mari said after finishing off her glass. "Too many long-term care patients, and too many doctors leaving after the Circle was opened."

"I thought the SDF were contributing?" Izuna made a note to look into this with her Captain afterwards.

"Oh! They are!" Mari was quick to placate the military woman. "It's just that they're beast for dealing with trauma cases. When we had the surge of patients once the power went on, they pulled their weight and more. But it's the patient care and those without major physical injuries that they are less helpful in."

Izuna nodded in understanding. "I'll see what I can do. See if other hospitals can lend you doctors and nurses."

"Actually, what you can do is expedite the passport applications from the over-seas medical professionals who want to help." Mari said quickly. "South Korea, America, Canada, Australia, even China – all have plenty of spare capacity to help out, but they keep getting delays from the government."

"I'll do that then."

"How about the children?" Gin asked politely. Though he spoke about all of them, they all knew that only one was really important.

"Amane is still being held in protective custody. The story is that she is being de-toxed from the brainwashing her father put her through, though to be honest, we could release her at any time assuming we could be certain of her safety."

"I hear you." Kaido asked for a refill of his milk. "Word on the street, people remember the Tamers that weren't helpful. And the Shomankai ain't got a lot of friends left when the blame started to come down on them."

"We were aware of the sentiments. Thank you for the confirmation."

"No prob."

"Komaki Midori, because her school was inside the Circle, and is still closed, was transferred to... Tatami Port Island, I think. We talked to her before she left and she's aware of what is required of her."

"I'm surprised you let her out." Mari said, shivering at the memory. "After what happened to her at the foot of the Hills..."

"She is still getting bloodwork done each week to check for lingering toxins. But we couldn't hold her without cause, and in order to keep the truth down..." Izuna let her explanation drift off. "I don't like it any more than you, but we're keeping an eye on it."

"And the others?" Gin prodded the officer.

"They've gone back to their school life. They've also signed the non-disclosure agreements."

"That wasn't the question."

Izuna took a deep breath. "He's still King. He's promised to work with us to put down any problems in the future, but for as long as possible, he wants to live a normal life. Given what he's theoretically capable of, the government has agreed."

Gin sighed. "Look, they're still just kids. Give them a break."

Izuna couldn't help it. "It's above my paygrade. I've told my superiors what is best, and it is up to them to not try anything stupid."

Kaido snorted at the implications. A round of glares was sent his way.

"If that's it then, I've got to get back to work." Mari pushed herself back off her stool and Izuna joined her.

"I can drive you back if you'd like. SDF transport pass and all that." The officer offered to her fellow former Demon Tamer, and after a moments though, Mari agreed. The two women quickly stepped out.

After they were gone, Kaido put down his glass. "I talked to his parents."

Gin looked up, every inch of his expression told Kaido to get out of his bar.

"Keisuke's." The Tokyo Demon took a deep breath to steady himself. "I was going to the folks of all my guys, letting them have the bad news. Had to. It was my responsibility. They were my guys. But him? He... I respected him. I had to tell his folks something. So I found out where they lived and I knocked on the door.

"They were crying. I told them who I was, and that I was there when he died. Didn't tell the the whole truth. That would have killed them. No. I said he was killed while doing the right thing, and that they should be proud of him. They thanked me, and I left. I killed him for killing my guys, and I still said sorry to his parents."

A clunk, and Kaido looked up. Gin had set down a glass of something more potent than milk. "Good. You kept your word to me. There's hope for you yet."

Outside, the two women walked towards the SDF marked car. A nondescript Private held the door for them, then got in to drive once he was told the destination.

"I was thinking." Mari wasn't sure how to phrase her request, but thankfully Izuna could read the situation.

"You have a request?"

"Well, yes. I was thinking about what you said about Amane. You see, there's a program for city doctors to be transferred out into rural or small town hospitals. I was thinking of applying before the Lockdown, and now it seems that maybe the best thing I could do is wait until things have quieted down in the hospital and then take her with me somewhere rural and quiet."

Izuma thought this over. "You? By yourself?"

Mari nodded. "I saw her face when her father was killed. She has no one in this world, and I can't just let that be."

"Let me pass that idea along to the Captain. He may approve on the grounds that you already know everything there is to know."

"Thank you for considering my request."

**Evening**

Shuji Ikutsuki casually strolled into the bar. He had spent the last day or so going over every last bit of information he could wring out of his contacts about the events inside the Lockdown. He even pulled some strings to interview one of the members of the Cult that were responsible. It wasn't a good lead, but he did get two pieces of important information.

First was that a man named Naoya had been instrumental in assisting the Shomankai, a name that tugged at the memories of Ikutsuki from his days as a scientist.

The other was the name of an owner of a bar inside the Yamanote circle who had earned the ire of the cultists and had apparently had made contact with the SDF to lead a small group against the Cultists.

The reasons for this apparent hatred were not readily apparent, but it was a lead in determining just what the relationship between the Shomankai Cult, the Kirijo Group's research and technology, Persona, and possibly how Komaki fit into all this.

Recognizing the bar owner as the man behind the bar itself, Shuji walked up to one end and put down a bill on the counter-top. The owner came over and slipped the money under the counter. "What'll you have?" he asked.

"Whatever that'll pay for." Ikutsuki replied with a glib smile. A drink was poured, and the former scientist examined his drink with a critical eye. The only thing he could tell about it was that it was... _green_. He sent it down in a single gulp and gasped at the burning that roared up his throat in retaliation. "... w... wow."

Gin smiled. "I don't get to fire that one up very often. Want another?"

Shuji shook his head in the negative. "Actually, I came here for another reason." He slid a 5000 yen bill onto the counter and it vanished just as quickly as the previous bill. "Looking for a person."

"Name?"

"Naoya."


	7. 24 Sept 2009 to 04 Oct 2009

**24 September 2009  
****Gekkoukan High, Classroom 1-B  
****Lunch**

Picking at her food, Midori just didn't feel like eating. While she was still hungry, the words of Shinjiro came back to her, reminding her that one of the best ways for a cook to improve is to eat their own food. It was a lesson taken hard by her, as she stared down at the horrible food in front of her, wishing she could just go to the cafeteria for some bread.

But apparently Fuuka had missed that memo, as she kept trying to stuff her food down Minato's throat despite it being currently worse than her own cooking and Yukari practically breathing down their necks when Fuuka tried to get her and Minato alone for the latest round of taste testing.

It was painfully obvious what the Archery team member felt for the Kendo club member.

Thinking about sports clubs, she had to remind herself that there was a meeting after class today. True to Chihiro's word, Rio-senpai was a hard taskmaster. She drove Midori through her paces without a single break. While the (former) Demon tamer felt she could handle the load, she did notice that many of the other girls in the club were on the edge of their patience.

While her first impulse was to try and fix things herself, she forced herself to slow down and consider what options she had. Love and Justice didn't exactly cover High School Tennis, and so more things needed to be thought of.

She explained the outlines of her predicament to Chihiro, and her classmate could offer no real help. "Perhaps if you talked to the President? She might be able to put some pressure on Rio to calm down?"

Midori thought this over. "I don't think that'll work. Mitsuru-senpai can be very strict, and she could just make things worse."

Chihiro had to nod in agreement. She had seen first hand just how hard President Kirijo can be on people who didn't meet her personal standards for what they should be doing, and Rio was supposed to be in a leadership position. "It would be better if you could fix that within the club" she finally had to admit.

Mindor nodded before forcing herself to finish off the last of her food. No sense in trying to save anything on an empty stomach. Well, not again, anyways.

**Home Economics Room  
****After School**

Bebe, the French exchange student, sighed. While Minato was certainly a help in the crafting of his kimono, he missed the skills of Midori. Now there was a girl who knew her way around a sewing machine!

But she had agreed to focus her club efforts on her sports club for now, her membership in the Fashion Club more casual. That didn't mean she had abandoned them in the time since she had joined, just the opposite. Every time she came by, she was a bundle of energy, doing a great many things at once.

So when she asked of him a small favour, he could only agree. It made sense, really, to get Minato's measurements. How else would he make a kimono for him as well, let alone whatever mysterious purpose Midori wanted them for?

**Tartarus  
****The Dark Hour**

With a sickening crack, Midori cried out in shock. "you. you! You! YOU! YOU MONSTER!" She yelled out as she viciously attacked the source of her current anguish. In very short order, the Shadow was defeated and released back into the aether. Minato, Junpei and Aigis stood around the fallen Midori as she cradled her arms against her chest.

Tears welling up in her eyes, she barely resisted as Minato pulled open her embrace to confirm for himself that, yes indeed, Midori had broken her weapon completely. "It was my friend" she whimpered as the wooden slivers fell through her fingers. "I've beaten up so many things with this, it's like there's a hole in my heart."

Junpei gave her a consoling pat on the back. "To be fair, it was pretty beat up when you started."

Aigis nodded. "I concur. The structural integrity of your weapon has been compromised for some time. I am surprised it lasted this long."

Before Midori could retort to Aigis' comment, Minato stepped up. "I think we should press on to find a teleporter back down to the Lobby. Midori, without a weapon, I'm going to have to rotate you off the team, so be sure to go see Officer Kurosawa tomorrow for a replacement."

Nodding, Midori stood. Looking lovingly at the shattered weapon, she shrugged then threw it over her shoulder, discarding it completely. "So I get to punch things for a little while. Won't be the first time!" Her voice conveyed a pleasure at using her fists that set the others back just a bit.

**25 September 2009  
****Paulowina Mall, Police Station  
****Afternoon**

Midori bounced in, waiting patiently while Officer Kurosawa finished helping some people who actually needed his help with the lost and found, rather than utilizing his skills as a black marketeer. Once the room was clear, he ushered Midori into the back where he presented her with a replacement weapon for her use.

"This is a weapon normally issued to special forces for silent combat," he introduced it without preamble. "Carbon-fibre core, reinforced exterior." He offered the weapon to Midori and she gave it a couple practice swings.

"Feel's heavy."

"You were using a police-issue weapon previously, not meant for serious work. This is, and the extra weight is justified."

"How much?"

He told her, and she arranged for the payment, walking out with her new weapon in her bag. She couldn't wait to try it out.

**27 September 2009  
****Tartarus, Fourth Block  
****The Dark Hour**

Midori had her first look at the top of a block. It was boring. "So, why can't we just jump the fence here?"

Minato sighed. "We tried that the first couple times. There's actually nothing up those stairs there until after the next full moon, and before you ask, we've even tried throwing things over the top. They just bounce off a force field of some sort."

Midori pouted, unhappy with this turn of events. But they had a week to go before the next Full moon. Then she would really shine!

**29 September 2009  
****Tatami Port Island, Back Alleyways  
****Morning**

"Where the hell is it?" Shinjiro looked around the alleys he frequented, hoping some dumbass hadn't pawned off his pocket watch. He'd hate to have to buy a new one. That would cut into monies spent to buy groceries.

**30 September 2009  
****Kirijo Memorial Hospital, VIP Wing  
****Afternoon**

Junpei opened the door with his back, causing Chidori to look up from her sketchbook. "You're early" she said, the tone somewhere between curiosity and annoyance. "And what is that thing for?"

Once clear, Junpei spun around, revealing a simple wheelchair. "Tah-dah! I talked to some of the nurses, and they said it was alright if you left your room while supervised. Well, I turned on the old Iori charm, and they agreed to let me roll you around."

Chidori turned away from him. "I don't want to go out."

His voice becoming more serious, Junpei shook his head. "Look, you can't just lay in bed all day. It's not healthy for your body or your mind. So I'm taking you outside where you can get some sunlight."

"Not going."

Junpei groaned. "Look, you can either get in the wheelchair under your own power, or I come over there, lift you up and carry you myself. Now, which do you think I'd prefer?"

A small blush crept across Chidori's cheeks, well hidden from Junpei. "Fine. But I'm bringing my stuff with me."

"Hell yes!" Junpei grinned like the idiot he was as she slid out of the bed and placed herself in the chair with as much dignity as anyone wearing a hospital gown was capable of doing. Once she was in place, Junpei practically ran down the halls towards the elevator and the roof-top garden reserved for patient use.

**01 October 2009  
****Minatodai Dorm, 3rd Floor, Midori's Room  
****Evening**

Her room was crowded. That was the only word that could be said. Every inch of space was being used for something, and yet for all the clutter, there was little in the way of litter. Cloth hung from knobs and poles, a re-sizable mannequin without arms head or legs was currently dressed in a damaged purple costume. Burn marks, slashes and the like all gave rise to the thought that it had been worn through a war zone. That was the truth. A camera peeked around the back of a screen that shielded whatever was before it from the door, where she made her video recordings.

Even Junpei was impressed that there was someone with more stuff than him.

She had dragged the four of them upstairs to her room without telling them why. Junpei, Fuuka, Yukari and Minato all lined up by her door as she reorganized things. "When Mitsuru said we weren't allowed to dress like we wanted because we were a school group, I went looking at the rules." She went behind her privacy screen, and flipped off her blouse, letting it land over the top. Instantly Junpei and Minato turned around and inspected the wall very closely.

"Now, the rules state that Sports or other physical activity clubs may have a uniform that deviates from the school dress code on the condition that they match the primary colours – urgh that's tight – and that the school name and symbol are displayed on the upper body. Chest, shoulders, back, that sort of thing."

Junpei agreed, having discovered a very interesting shade about three inches from his nose. "But only Mitsuru and Akihiko-senpai wear the uniform properly!"

"Wearing the jacket over a shirt like you, Fuuka and Minato is within the rules, as is Yukari's sweater. Shinjiro, Ken and Koro-chan all don't count as they are considered to be volunteers and team mascot." She poked her head out from behind her screen. "Did you know there are rules concerning the registration and use of mascots for club activities? Koro-chan is ours!"

People shook their heads and Midori returned to her privacy. "Well, anyways, technically SEES is registered as a physical activity club that doesn't do sports, not as a culture club. And because of that, I get to do _this_!

She emerged from behind the screen to the gasps of the other girls in the room. The guys, taking this as their cue to turn around, did so as well. "Well, damn." Junpei spoke for the both of them as they took in what Midori now wore.

The blue haired girl now wore black leggings and a dark crimson pleated skirt that came down to her knees. The holster for her Evoker poked out from the bottom of the skirt where it would be easy to draw. A white blouse with the school logo stitched over the breast pocket over her heart while a black mantle rested over her shoulders, buttoned down the front. A picture of Black Frost, trimmed in white adorned her right shoulder while a dark blue beret with the letters S.E.E.S written on it completed the ensemble.

"Tah-dah!" Midori gave a small twirl to show off her design. "It's not much, but I had to make five in the past couple weeks. Call it version one of the SEES Club Activity Uniform!"

"Um... what?" Yukari asked, only for Junpei to skip right over her.

"Suh-weet! I assume the guys don't have to wear the skirt, right?" His eyes went up and down the proposed uniform, not seeing the model for the modelled.

Midori reached back behind her screen to grab two bags, tossing them at Minato and Junpei. Put these on, and meet up back here. I need to make sure that Yukari and Fuuka get theirs perfect. NOW GO!"

**1****st**** Floor, Dining Room**

Midori appeared at the foot of the stairs, and gained everyone's attention. "Thank you! Now, ladies and gentlemen, tonight I would like to introduce you all to my proposed SEES Uniforms!" Mitsuru tried to question just what was going on when Midori put a small folder of papers in her hands. "Here's the paperwork. It's all in order."

The others came down single file, the guys with pants the same colour as the girl's skirts, only trimmed in black along the sides and around the ankles and waist. Midori launched into a spiel about why she chose these colours and that pattern and all she needed was for Mitsuru as President of SEES to approve and for two other members of the Student Council (although she had already secured the approval of the Treasurer thanks to her crushing on Minato – pictures forthcoming) and she could get to work on the rest!

"No."

"What?!" Midori leaned over the table as the others stood around uncomfortably.

"Simple, SEES needs no uniform, and if we register one, then that will raise questions about what we do, and I can't have that." Mitsuru turned her attention away from Midori by passing back the papers.

**02 October 2009  
****1st Floor, Kitchen  
****Early Morning**

Shinjiro found himself in the unique position of trying to console Midori as she came down for her cooking lessons. She had no where near the usual amount of energy she would put into her efforts, and when she mismeasured the rice for the third time, he sat her down in the kitchen to talk. "Mitsuru really got to you, didn't she?"

Midori nodded.

"Well, she can be a bit of a hard case. I think her reaction was because you tried to dump all this on her all at once." He sat down, careful to keep his removed jacket clean. "Did you talk to her about this before hand?"

Midori shook her head. "I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Oh, she doesn't like surprises. Not one bit. Let me tell you about the time Aki and I tried to give her a surprise birthday party..."

**Gekkoukan High, Student Council Room  
****After School**

"I apologize for my behaviour last night!" Midori's bow was very deep as she uttered the words to Mitsuru.

"I accept your apology." The President was formal as well before shifting back to her work, dismissing Midori to return to the Fashion Club with her silence.

**SEES Dormitory  
****04 October 2009  
****The Dark Hour**

Frosty safe in her pocket, Midori left the Dorm with everyone else, leaving Ikutsuki behind in case Shinji or Ken came back from whatever it was they were doing. She hoped they would show up, she wanted her first Full Moon Arcana Hunt to be the greatest thing ever!


	8. 04 Oct 2009 to 07 Oct 2009

**04 October 2009  
****Port Island, Iwatodai Station  
****The Dark Hour**

"And that... that was the _worst_ thing I have ever done. Or beaten up." Midori's complaints didn't fall on deaf ears as SEES gathered after the destruction of the Fortune and the Strength Arcana Shadows.

Junpei was the first to add his agreement. "A spinning wheel? And a horse? What, did they escape from a merry-go-round?"

The others felt the broken ice and added in their own depreciation for the battle they had just gone through. "It wasn't a battle," Yukari said. "That was a slog."

"Hey, at least we got lots of practice switch-hitting!" Junpei smiled as his term for getting people to get in and out of battle seemed to have taken hold. One person would leave the fight while another came up to replace them. It was really useful in open areas like this, but practising covering each other like that after Midori's introduction a month previously showed that it could be done and to allow people to sit out and catch their breath in time for the next round.

"The two who call themselves STREGA did not interfere." Aigis commented as she scanned the area carefully in case she was wrong.

Midori had only heard about the three people who identified themselves as STREGA. She still hadn't been allowed to see their captive yet, although once she made the connection between Junpei's girlfriend and STREGA, she had instantly congratulated him on using the power of Love to save her.

She still didn't understand why he was so appalled by her comment, and embarrassed by the whole thing.

The others, Takaya and Jin, were still at large. She had been given a good description of them in case she saw them out during the day and was quite willing to give them a good beating in the name of Justice!

"Actually, I think I'll take a different route back to the Dorm." Akihiko said as she returned her attention to the conversation at hand and away from her daydreams of Love and Justice. "See if I can find Shinji or Ken before the Dark Hour ends." She almost offered to go with him, but when she opened her mouth to say something or ask Fuuka to look for them, a yawn escaped instead. Cursing Frosty's lack of endurance, she shook her head to clear the growing cobwebs.

"Midori has the right idea." Yukari finished unstringing her bow after retrieving the arrows that she could. "Why don't we just go back to the Dorm, find those two, and have Stupei yell at them for pulling a stunt only he is allowed to do."

"Hey!" Junpei shot back as SEES began to file out of the Metro station for the long walk back to the dorm. "You want _me_ to scold Shinjiro? Do I look like I have a death wish?"

**Minatodai Dorm, 4****th**** Floor Control Room**

"Where's Ikutsuki?" Yukari wondered aloud as they entered the room and she failed to locate the man in question. "It's not like him to leave the office while we're out?"

"Maybe he's with Ken and Shinji." Fuuka offered as she took a seat on the couch, mentally preparing herself to look for their still-missing membership.

"I don't know. I mean, does anyone know anything that happened today that would cause those two to bail like that?" Junpei asked around as he rolled his shoulders to work the kinks out of the long battle.

Mitsuru gasped as realization came to her. "October! Oh no! I can't believe I forgot! This is the day Amada's mother was killed!"

Midori forced all her tiredness away as she focused all her attention on Mitsuru. But it was Junpei who put words into the air first. "WHAT? You serious?"

Ignoring him, Mitsuru turned on Fuuka. "Yamagishi. I need you to find them now! They will most likely be together. Akihiko... why didn't you tell me?" The last was quietly whispered to those absent.

"Hey! Will someone tell me what's going on? What do you mean, 'Ken's Mother'?" Yukari tried to get a word in edgewise and Mitsuru caught it.

Remorse crept into her voice as she spoke. "Although the cause of her death was officially made an accident, ..., ..." She took a deep breath to steady herself under the absolute gazes of those others in the room. She had been to corporate cutthroat meetings with less intensity. "We're the ones who killed Amada's mother. SEES." Mitsuru confessed the crimes of the organization before anyone else had joined, when it was just her, Akihiko and Shinjiro. Shinji had activated his Persona, and it had gone on a rampage - "Be glad yours didn't, Komaki" she added to Midori in the middle of her explanation – resulting the death of the innocent woman.

Midori found herself torn. On one hand, she completely agreed with Ken's desire for justice for the death of his loving mother. On the other, it seemed that only Ken still held onto this event as more than just regrets and memories.

Fuuka had activated her Persona with the telling of the tale and was listening with only half an ear as she looked out over the city for the signs of their missing friends. In the silence that accompanied the end of Mitsuru's tale, she found what she was looking for. "There! On the Island! Ken and Shinji! Akihiko is nearby!" She gasped. "And STREGA is there too!"

Midori was already running for the door, pushing into her reserves to keep moving as she aimed for the stairs down.

_Love_ and Justice. That was her creed.

**Port Island Transit Station, Back Alley  
****The Dark Hour**

A single gunshot echoed out of the alley, and Akihiko knew he was too late. There was only one person who would use a gun in the Dark Hour, and it wasn't Ken or Shinji. "Damn it!" He cursed himself as he angled across the plaza towards the fading sound. "I should have known! Should have been more careful."

A flash of motion from his right and he saw Midori of all people at full sprint, her face red and unreadable. Beside her was Junpei and Aigis, the rest of SEES strung out behind them based on their own speeds.

They broke into the entrance to the alley just as the second shot rang out. "SHINJI!" Akihiko yelled as they entered into the small area behind the buildings. What he saw would be something he would live with for the rest of his days.

Ken, standing absolutely still as Shinji guarded him from Takaya, his gun raised. Wounds in his shoulder and chest wept a profuse crimson tide that flowed slowly down his jacket darkly.

Stepping back in the face of overwhelming odds, Takaya vanished into the shadows leaving behind a sad parting. "How very disappointing..."

Midori grabbed Ken by the shoulders and yanked him roughly around, spinning the limp boy into Yukari who in turn held him away from the sight of the injured Shinji. But the boy refused to be handled like that and fought with her to see Shinji.

Midori and Akihiko took a hold of him and settled him onto the ground. They stripped off their jacket and vest, each moving to staunch one of the wounds. "What's with the long face?" He said to Ken, coughing as he did so.

"Stay still!" "Be quiet!" The two of them tried to work at Shinji's body while Mitsuru tried to add her own healing magic to the mix, but to no avail. "It's alright" the bleeding man said, pushing through the pain. "You've got all the time in the world ahead of you. Let your anger be your strength." He continued to resist the efforts to help him, looking Midori and Akihiko in the eyes; the three of them shared a moment of mutual understanding. "Come on Ken, you're a kid. Don't waste your life. It's your own, OK?"

Shinji's vision swam. "But... I..." Ken tried to respond to the man who had just saved his life, even though he was ready to do the deed himself. "I..."

"A..ki... take care of him?" Shinji's voice began to fade even as he pulled himself higher.

"I... w..ill." Akihiko gripped Shinji's lapels harder as Midori shifted her own grip from trying to same Shinjiro to making him feel comfortable.

But Shinji would have none of that. He forced his friends away and stood up. "This is how... I choose..." One step away from Ken. Two. A stumble. Three.

Shinjiro Aramaki died on his feet. The only way he would have it.

**05 October 2009  
****Minatodai Dorm, Midori's Room  
****Morning**

Pulling herself out of her room was a chore. All was quiet in the building and she was certain that anyone who had actually gotten sleep last night was either a liar or a monster. It happening again to her didn't make it easier. In fact, her memories last night just made it harder.

He had died during the Dark Hour and they held a vigil for him until it ended when Mitsuru called Officer Kurosawa to the scene. He had arrived shortly thereafter and had taken charge, ordering everyone except Ken, Akihiko and Mitsuru back to the Dorm where they were to act like nothing had happened.

Not possible. But they had followed instructions anyways. Ikutsuki wasn't there still, and lacking a focus to take out her anger on, Midori first washed her hands of the worst of the blood, then went straight to her room to try and get some sleep. But it never came.

Now she was in a fresh change of clothes and heading for school. Or at least she tried. Going down the stairs every step thudding hard in her ears until she reached the bottom landing. Looking around she saw Fuuka was laying down on the couch, gentle snoring coming from her and Koromaru, who had curled up at her feet.

She revised her opinion. Not everyone would be liars or monsters. Some merely delayed their reactions. But they would have to face it in time, one way or the other.

Minato surprised her, coming out of the kitchen with a bowl of rice and some vegetables on a tray. He invited her to join him. "I don't think I'll be able to eat it all" he said as he found a second pair of chopsticks.

"Didn't get any sleep either?"

"No." He said as he poked at the food. "Fuuka only crashed less than an hour ago. She hasn't said a word."

Midori nodded in understanding. "And the others?" She didn't mean anyone else who had returned to the Dorm last night.

"Akihiko came home around Five, went right to his room. Mitsuru and Ken are still out."

"Ken should have come back by now."

Minato signalled his agreement. "I think we should skip morning classes. There's no way to hide this, and that'll give us time to put ourselves together."

"Right."

**Gekkoukan Highschool, Gymnasium  
****After School**

She waited until he had finished crying, his knees buckled under the weight of more than his bones. Climbing up onto the stage beside Akihiko, she asked quietly of him "Are you done?"

"Am I?!" He turned to snap at this impudent child who dared to chastise him... but he saw instead the tears falling down her otherwise stoic and impassive face. This, he realized with a start, was the face of someone for whom Death was known to them. He couldn't yell at her for this. Not now, not ever.

Midori kept her eyes fixed on the picture of Shinji that adorned the memorial of plastic flowers and even falser platitudes. She had heard Junpei's yelling earlier and wanted to cheer him on, or for him to at least throw a punch or two. "Do you want to kill him? Takaya? For what he did?"

"Yes!" The answer was a snarl of barely contained rage.

"Good for you." Midori wiped away some of the tears as she brought her hands together in prayer. "Do you know what you're going to do when you have your hands wrapped around that pale bastard's neck?"

For Akihiko, the completely unemotional voice was far more imposing that any vile threats she could have made. "No. I hadn't considered that."

"Ah. When you do. Not if. But when. Do this, please, a favour?"

"What is it?"

"Don't do it for Shinji. Don't do it for Ken, or yourself or for anyone else. What you want, what you need, is justice." She unclasped her hands and turned to face him, crouching down so they were both at eye level to each other. "So when you're crushing the life out of that murderer, don't do it out of some sense of revenge. Do it because you love him." She pointed at the picture of Shinjiro. "Do it that way because Justice without Love is nothing more than petty vengeance, a cycle of destruction that will only lead to more death and suffering. Love is what stays our hands, it is what keeps us going when nothing else can. _Love_ is what called Shinji to do what he did, when all Ken wanted was justice. Love, without Justice is simple sacrifice. Only when Love and Justice come together in harmony can both be true. If you can look Shin-chan's killer in the eye, and still feel love, then, and only then will I let you have your justice. Because if I'm there, and I see any shred of hate, of uncaring apathy, of anything else... I will stop you. I will stop you from making that mistake."

Akihiko digested these words like the words of a master. His reply was soft. "You were in Tokyo. Seems kind of stupid to ask now, but you saw, right? Not just the dead, but the dying? The way you tried to help him, you'd done that before. It's the only thing that makes you and the words that come out of your mouth make sense."

She nodded. _his throat being crushed by the demon of 'justice', fire burning away at clothes and skin, a broken body dashed to the pavement coming to rest in the shadow of the bus, a distant scream that came from her own throat as she finally, really, truly understood what it was she stood for_ "Keisuke... yes. People... didn't want to help each other. They wanted to take what they wanted, what they felt they needed. I tried to stop them, so show that fighting wasn't what we needed. Like Ken. He thought that hurting Shin-chan was what he wanted, what he needed. But when he got it... He found out the truth. Shinji tried to tell him that."

"What did you do, when you found his killer?" Akihiko caught the name – Keisuke, and wondered what their relationship was that she would break like she did.

Midori closed her eyes, remembering Kaido's own expression. "I... it doesn't matter." She hopped down from the stage. "Anyways, Mitsuru's called for a meeting tonight. We need to talk about Ken."

"Let him be. He needs this." Akihiko turned back towards the last material memorial to his friend. "Hey, you watch from there with Miki, will you? I still have things to do. I'll finish what was started."

A new man, a new persona emerging from the feelings he had been confronted with. "I can't carry this guilt forever. I'm getting tired of it."

The two of them walked back to the Dorm together, confiding in each other their memories of those lost.

**06 October 2009  
****Port Island Station, Murder scene  
****Evening**

"Hey there." Akihiko walked with calm purpose over to Ken, the young boy far worse for the wear for having been out on the streets for a night and a day. "Came back, huh?" Akihiko stepped around the police tape that encompassed Shinji's last living moments.

"When my mother died, no one believed me. They still say the fire was unexplained, even though I told them what happened." He refused to raise his eyes. "All I wanted was to make things clear. That she could be at peace when all the truth was revealed. That's all I wanted..."

Akihiko didn't come closer, allowing Ken the space he needed to express himself.

"They said he died in a violent crime, right? That he was being mugged by some thugs and one of them had a gun. It was on the news, and the police were everywhere yesterday. But no one knows the truth. Just like mom... And I'm left behind again..."

"The dead can't come back. They never can, Ken." Akihiko finally began to close on the young boy. "We have to accept this. We have to move on. You may think you're alone in this, but you're not.

Ken forcibly turned his back away from Akihiko, who kept talking. "I'm not going to drag you back. I can't. I won't even say I found you. What you can choose to do is to stay here, forever if you want, trapped by your memories and regrets. But if you still have the will to fight, to make everything that happened to have meaning and see your choices through to the end and stand on your own feet, then come home. I'll accept you."

Akihiko walked away, his piece done.

**Minatodai Dorm, 1****st**** Floor Lounge**

"How can you be so calm?" Yukari demanded of Midori after she told the older girl that Akihiko would go find Ken, and that they weren't to be disturbed. "It's already been a day! What if he's hurt? If STREGA found him!"

Midori simply looked back though her glasses, the reflective glare hiding her eyes. "Because it's the right thing to do. And Ken can take of himself."

The front door opened, and Ken came in, closing the door behind him. "I'm home" he said, as though expecting that it would be a lie.

"Welcome Home!" Midori called back, not bothering to look at Ken. "Take a bath, then we'll get some supper into you."

The rest rushed over to their lost member, to assure themselves that this was real, but Midori was confident that things would be alright now.

**07 October 2009  
****Minatodai Dorm, 3rd Floor, Midori's Room  
****Early Morning**

She hated being woken up like this in the morning, without her makeup on, or any of her other armours. Squinting, she fumbled her glasses while opening the door. Ken was on the other side. "Hey. What's up?" She finally managed to get her glasses on and the world came into focus again.

Ken bowed. "Thank you."

Confused, Midori tried to process this turn of events. "Um... for what?"

"For... for talking to Akihiko-san. He talked to me. Mentioned some of the things you told him. How you helped him help me." He took a deep breath. "And more importantly, for not making a fuss over me last night."

The Magical Warrior of Love and Justice swelled with pride. "It's what I do. Now, why don't we meet up this evening in the lounge. My dad finally sent me some stuff from work, and I want to share."

Ken looked up, surprise on his face. "You mean...!"

Midori grinned. "Yep! The latest Featherman R action figures, available on store shelves in three weeks time!"


	9. 07 Oct 2009 to 20 Oct 2009

**07 October 2009**

**Tokyo, Yamanote Circle, Eiji's Bar**

**Evening**

"You didn't actually _hit_ him?" Haru shot her friend an incredulous look as Gin admitted to wanting to smash in the face of the man who came in looking for Naoya a couple weeks earlier. It wasn't a confession to be made over the phone, so he had waited for D-VA to come back to town in order to invite Haru over and catch her up on the news.

"Oh, I wanted too. After what that man did to Aya, any mention of him gets me angry." Gin set down the glass he was working with and moved on to the next. Behind her, the band was busy getting set up for their gig that night.

"So, what did you tell this Mr. Ikutsuki?" Haru asked as she closely examined the drink in front of her. "I mean, it's not like you know where he is."

"And I told him as much." Gin said in reply. "Turns out, some guy named Honda worked for him and was trapped in the Circle. He was investigating Naoya when he was killed sometime on the sixth day, and Ikutsuki is trying to pick up the pieces."

"Good luck to him. That bastard has dropped off the face of the earth."

"I know. After he left – great tipper by the way – I contacted our friends in the SDF to let them know about this. They said they'd look into it as apparently this Honda was a known Demon Tamer."

Haru paused, a worried glance at her synthesizer beside her. "Really? Did Ikutsuki say anything about that?"

Gin shook his head in the negative. "No, and I wouldn't have told him anyways."

"Good."

**09 October 2009**

**Kirijo Memorial Hospital, VIP Wing**

**After School**

"Junpei?" Chidori looked up from her drawing as the door to her room swung open. It wasn't time for a meal, or for any checkups, so it had to be him.

But it wasn't. "Sorry." The stranger was a younger girl, but everything about her said she was a Persona user. "My name is Midori Komaki, I'm one of Junpei's kohai's. She used the more formal term for junior in the face of Chidori's glare.

"Then why are you here?" The important word was nearly hissed. She didn't need this completely unnecessary interruption!

"Well, Junpei was busy with some stuff, so he sent me to let you know he'd be late. Well, that, and I wanted to ask you a question." Midori slid further and further into the room, despite the desire of Chidori for her to just leave, and the look in her eyes to communicate that desire.

"And what question would that be?" The STREA member prepared to summon up every indignation she could at any questions regarding her loyal friends.

"When you sewed your clothes, why did you use a number three needle, and not a number two?"

Chidori blinked. "What?"

"Well, I do my own costumes too, so Mitsuru-senpai asked me to look over your stuff. Nothing out of the ordinary, but I noticed that your thread was a little loose going through the threads of the cloth, so I did some checking, and I figured that you were using a needle that was a hair too big for the cloth."

Chidori lost track of time while she argued sewing styles and techniques, Junpei arriving long before she would admit that maybe this Midori knew what she was talking about.

**Minatodai Dorm, 2****nd**** Floor Sitting Area**

**Evening**

Junpei crashed into a seat, whipping off his cap at Fuuka's curious expression. "Fuuka. Please promise me that you will never ever allow me to walk into the middle of two girls arguing arts and crafts. Please?" His voice became pleading. "Once was too many!"

**11 October 2009**

**Tartarus**

**The Dark Hour**

It was the first foray into the tower since Shinji's death, and things weren't going too well – at least in Minato's opinion. His current source of problems was from Midori of all people.

"Frost... Ace."

Minato nodded. When he decided to get around to using that Persona that Elizabeth had challenged him to create after Igor offered his improved help, he didn't fully consider the effect it would have on his fellow SEES member.

With Black Frost, there was mounting evidence for a whole Frost 'family' of Personas - Jack, Pyro, Emperor, Ace, Black. While it surprised him that she knew about the first three, the existence of the newest Persona in his repertoire seemed to put her off.

Off to one side, Ken and Akihiko stood. They were there to practice with their newly developed Personas and they took the opportunity to bond a bit with Midori being a casual part of it. Which was why she was up here now instead of Mitsuru or Aigis.

Midori was trying to figure out how to fit Frosty fit into the hierarchy of Frosts, and was quizzing Minato harshly on his versions of the Personas.

What he caught from all this was that Midori already knew about the other types of Frosts, and thought her own version was the ultimate form of the set. Frost Ace put a possible hole in that theory, and has the target of her annoyance.

Oh, and now he was calling Black Frost '_Frosty_', just as she did. Which led into another line of thought. What was it about her and Fuuka that allowed them to separate themselves from their Personas and refer to them as distinct entities? And why was he distracting himself.

To mollify Midori, he pointed out that his Personas were transient things, and that Frosty (he did it again!) would be more powerful in the long run than his Frost Ace. Until then, he would avoid using his Ace while she was in the party unless they needed the overlapping strengths.

This seemed to please her, and Minato resolved to check ahead of time whether or not there were more entities in the Frost lineup.

**14 October 2009**

**Minatodai Dorm, 1st Floor Sitting Area**

**Evening**

Fuuka was unsurprised when the chat request came through.

_At-Low: Hey._

_Fuu-chan: Hello._

_At-Low: Weird question for you._

_Fuu-chan: ?_

_At-Low: Can you ask Komaki Midori to get her COMP and plug it in?_

_Fuu-chan: Um, why?_

_At-Low: I should be able to unbrick it for her._

_Fuu-chan: really?_

_At-Low: Yep._

_Fuu-chan: Alright, I'll get her._

_*At-Low whistles while he waits_

_*At-Low looks at his watch_

_*At-Low wonders if this is a girl thing_

_Fuu-chan: Sorry! She's beside me right now and we've got it plugged in._

_At-Low: Hey Midori!_

_Fuu-chan: Midori: Heeeeeeyyy! You watching my show?_

_At-Low: Sure do! How's classes?_

_Fuu-chan: Midori: AWESOME!_

_Fuu-chan: Midori: Are you sure this is safe?_

_At-Low: Yep! I've got ours working back here, and he agreed that you would be the first person outside Tokyo to get theirs fixed._

_Fuu-chan: Midori: What does that mean?_

_At-Low: I need you to turn it on for a minute, then turn it off._

_Fuu-chan: She's doing that now._

_Fuu-chan: Done._

_At-Low: Excellent. I found her server IP. Alright, I just need a few minutes on my end._

_Fuu-chan: Midori: How's Yoo-Hoo?_

_Fuu-chan: Midori: And Able?_

_Fuu-chan: Midori: And Gin and Haru and Mari-sensei and Ayane_

_At-Low: Turn it back on._

_Fuu-chan: Midori: Hey! Where did all the apps go?_

_At-Low: I scrubbed everything and built a new OS. It'll send e-mail and whatnot through the custom server, but all the fun stuff is gone._

_Fuu-chan: Komaki is sad. Why?_

_At-Low: Secret. Tell her I'm sending an e-mail to her giving her details._

_At-Low: Make sure she reads it!_

_At-Low: REALLY_

_Fuu-chan: Alright_

TO: dolly 

FROM: atlow

RE: COMP

Hey Dolly! To prevent people from doing more summoning, I've scrubbed the summon, Cathedral and Auction apps. I've restored full functionality that would be found on the system if you bought a new one in the store, so you can play games and the like on it still.

However, I have hidden a function on the system. Whenever it's turned on, it will play SND11 outside of human hearing. That's the cancelling music. So you're a walking unsummoner now, and we all trust you to be nice with it. In order to do this, I had to restore connection to the Babel server (hence the on your email), and it has a very high bandwidth due to the lack of traffic on it now. You could probably livestream your show onto your COMP!

I've attached a list of everyone's e-mails. Bye!

-AtLow

**18 October 2009**

**Tartarus, Lobby**

**The Dark Hour**

After the exams, SEES decided the best way to unwind was to go into Tartarus and beat up shadows. Midori was on her usual spot on the stairs when she wasn't up and was busy checking her e-mail. When she discovered that her COMP still worked in the Dark Hour, she was overjoyed, only to discover that nothing else was. She couldn't expect anyone else to answer during The Dark Hour, but at least she would be able to read and draft responses before sending them out at 12:01 in the morning.

To Yoo-Hoo, she complained about her classes and the tests this past week. Atsuro got a quick message telling him that, no, she wouldn't be getting the new COMP as she wanted to keep this one. It has sentimental value for her.

But her last message, the one that was to be composed to _him_, that was hard. Igor's warning and the extracted promise were still fresh in her mind. What could she tell the boy that essentially ruled over all Demons, and whose first act was to banish them from the human world? "Hey, are you awake during the hour between midnight and one minute later?"

It was a question that gnawed on her for weeks, even as she kept up the usual social communications.

In the end, it was safer to not say anything at all.

**19 October 2009**

**Gekkokan High School, Teacher's Hallway**

**After School**

Midori looked over her exam marks. For a girl who spent a week unable to do her homework, then a large stretch of time in the hospital, she hadn't done too badly. Out of curiosity, she checked for the rest of the people in the Dorm. Unsurprisingly, Mitsuru, Akihiko and Minato were all at the top of their respective classes. Yukari, Fuuka, Aigis and herself were closer to the middle, while Junpei didn't care either way, and his marks reflected that.

Seeing Aigis behind her, she passed along the pertinent information and then followed up with a question. "Hey, how come you're so bad at some subjects?"

"I have skill at sciences such as math and chemistry. However, I have difficulties when faced with the so-called softer subjects, such as Home Ec, English an Japanese. My marks balance out and I maintain my academic standing."

Although Midori still didn't know _why_ Aigis went to school in the first place, and asking while in the hallway certainly wasn't the best way to go about it, that was for sure. She reminded herself to check in later as she had to go to tennis after class.

**Gekkoukan High School, Tennis Court**

**After Class**

Midori watched, helpless, as the rest of the club filed off the court. Those few who could stand Rio's training regimen had finally given up after one too many tirades from the head of the club.

Unfortunately, that left Midori all by herself in the presence of a very irate senior. "You! You're not going to walk out on me too, are you?" The question pinned her to the ground, Midori not best sure how to respond. On one hand, she wanted to turn the accusations back onto Rio, to show her just how she had driven everyone away.

On the other hand, she was supposed to start showing a better understanding of the feelings of others. She wasn't a _complete_ fool. "No, I'm not going to leave." The words were honest. "But maybe you should."

Rio stopped and stared at Midori as though unsure of what she had just said.

Then she left, leaving a sad lonely girl behind.

**20 October 2009**

**Gekkokan High School, School Rooftop**

**Lunchtime**

Midori was dragged along by the others as they came to the roof. Apparently one of Fuuka's friends, a ganguro girl (which automatically placed her on Midori's 'I don't like you' list) was transferring out due to family issues or something like that, and they were all there to give moral support.

She would find out later that it was this Natsuki who started the events leading to Fuuka awakening her Persona, and joining SEES, so Midori felt that maybe the girl wasn't a total loss. But still, what horrid person would choose that fashion statement? The costs in makeup would be ludicrous!

But when Fuuka admitted that Lucia had improved to Juno, Midori began to think hard about what it took to change one's persona, and would the rest of SEES wonder if she stayed with Frosty, never changing, never growing as a person?

Maybe she should talk to Igor.


	10. 20 Oct 2009 to 02 Nov 2009

**20 October 2009**

**Gekkoukan High School, Student Council Room**

**After School**

Midori stood uncomfortably as Vice-President Odagiri looked over the papers in front of him. The silence was loud, the quiet deafening.

She chastised herself for being overly dramatic, it wasn't like she was in trouble, or anything like that. He had requested her presence for some information, and she had agreed. Talking to her friends in class revealed that he was something of a hard-ass for the rules who had loosened up a bit after some issue with something or another earlier in the year.

"Minato-san vouches for your character." Odagiri said calmly, finally looking up from his paperwork. "And that is a very high recommendation. Please do not betray it."

Stopping her fidgeting, Midori looked straight ahead, over the shoulder of the Vice-President, not daring to say a word in the face of the implications he was starting to make. "I have here the resignations for every member of the Gekkoukan Tennis Club. Except for yours. They all say the same thing, in so many words, and even when interviewed, they all agreed." He flipped the folder closed. "Tell me why you haven't quit."

"I refuse to, Vice President."

"A very good answer. Now, why should the club continue on with only two people. That is far below the minimum membership."

"..." Midori opened her mouth and closed it. The question was a good one, and with Rio's actions driving away members to the point where they were resigning en-mass... Maybe it was a better idea to let the club die? No, she countered herself. He wasn't looking for a solution from her. It wasn't possible. What he was asking was a bit more subtle, and she felt a surge of joy that she caught it. "The club must exist because it would adversely affect the reputation of the school to have a club close under such circumstances." There, word it vaguely enough, and he could pick out the answer he wanted.

She may not be _good_ at playing these games, but she could still try.

"I am glad you understand the severity of the situation." And just like that, Odagiri put Midori back in way over her head without even meaning to. "Are you willing to stay in the club while the issues are sorted out?"

"Of course."

"Excellent. Anything else?"

Midori jumped at a thought that occurred to her. "May I make a suggestion?" It was peculiar, but as an affected member of the club, didn't she have the responsibility to help everything else?

Odagiri looked carefully at her, as though weighing the pros and cons of taking a suggestion, even in private, from such a new member of the school. Eventually curiosity won out and he nodded for her to speak. "Perhaps, Vice-President Odagiri, is if the club were divided into two. One would be led by Iwasaki-san, and be exclusively competitive in nature, with a heavy training regimen. The other would be a more casual club for general fitness and a... less strenuous schedule."

Odagiri was impassive in the face of her suggestion, merely waiting a moment before dismissing the impatiently patient Midori. "You may go. But do remember to attend club meetings." Relieved, she left the room with some dignity.

**22 October 2009**

**Minatodai Dorm, 4th Floor Control Room**

**Evening**

Ikutsuki and Mitsuru sat on opposite ends of the coffee table, going over the paperwork that had been generated by his trip to Tokyo. The revelation that Midori's COMP also worked in the Dark Hour was enough to get Mitsuru to put more resources into figuring out just what happened in Tokyo during the Lockdown.

"So, this Naoya person was contracted to work on special COMPS for the Shomankai Cult. He was made lead programer for their computer infrastructure." Ikutsuki pointed out the blurry photo apparently taken inside the Lockdown of a man in a green and black kimono standing between two buildings. "The Cult stole Kirijo group property to help craft their infrastructure. Somehow, they got wind of our research into the Dark Hour, and thought it was sufficiently mystical for their purposes." He handed her a sheet with the technical specifications of the Shomankai COMPs on it.

Reading it over, she sputtered a bit. "This is madness! They built jamming devices into what amounts as child's toys?"

"Indeed. I dare not think about what went on in the minds of the people behind these plots. But more important than the stolen technology was what they intended to do with it." What he was about to say next was something he needed to tread carefully, lest all his own plans became unravelled. "The Cult had some access to the nature of Kirijo Group technology, but it was not enough. They did not know about the Dark Hour itself, and seemed to think, in the madness of their leaders, that we were trying to summon demons."

Ikutsuki let this sink into Mitsuru's mind. "Demons." She finally wrapped her mind around it. "You mean Personas."

He nodded in agreement. "They thought we were using this technology to summon demons, and they sought to emulate us to their own benefit. The Lockdown was the result of their attempt to find as many people as they could who could summon demons and use them to leverage themselves into power."

Putting together the dots, Mitsuru leaped at the conclusion in front of her. "Komaki. She was affected by the Cult?"

"I thought of that too. There are many reports of chemicals in the air and water, it is possible that the Cult used that to force Persona awakenings. We also have discounted reports of demons being summoned to battle and attacking people, but they have been dismissed by less informed groups as the result of said chemical attacks."

"Midori's Black Frost was activated as the result of the actions of the Cult. Actions they wouldn't have taken if they hadn't found out about our own research..." Mitsuru didn't like where this train of thoughts led her. "We're responsible for her, and so many others, aren't we?"

Ikutsuki saw this, and mentally thanked himself for her choice of things to focus on. "Not directly," he said in his public role. "You couldn't have known about this, even your father hasn't responded well to these revelations."

"Still, we are responsible. It was our technology that got into the wrong hands." She looked up at Ikutsuki. "How many people with Personas were there?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. The Group is looking, but so far, our Midori is the only one still active. Perhaps without the impetus of the Dark Hour and Tartarus, what the Shomankai did was only temporary."

"I should tell Akihiko about this. And Arisato as well. They should know. Is there any chance that Komaki's origin will be harmful to her in the long run?"

"I don't believe so. However, she is still getting regular medical checkups at our hospital. We can look at her records there, and add in some checks with our equipment here during the Dark Hour."

Mitsuru nodded. "Yes, we must take responsibility as much as we can."

**26 October 2009**

**The Velvet Room**

**After School**

Coming to Paulowina Mall after practice wasn't her idea of a relaxing trip, but after convincing Minato to ask Igor for an audience, the date and time had been arranged despite her other commitments. Putting on a good dress in the washroom, then handing her bag over to Minato, she followed him into the hallway leading to the mysterious door and the Velvet room. "Give me a call when you come out. I've got something for you."

The door closed behind her, and she turned to face Igor and... It wasn't Elizabeth that stood beside him like last time, but a man who looked a lot like her. Midori bowed anyways, ever the good guest. "Thank you for seeing me, sir."

"Sit! Sit!" Igor waved at the lonely chair across from his sofa. "I had honestly expected you to return sooner than this." She took the seat offered. "Your patience pleases me."

Bowing, the mysterious man introduced himself. "My name is Theodore. I serve Master Igor. I am pleased to meet you." Theodore turned to Igor. "Did I say the right, Master?"

Igor nodded. "You did."

Although sitting, Midori did her best to bow again to Theodore, introducing herself as she would to any older man. Though to her eyes, Theodore was just as inhuman as Igor or Elizabeth. Not that it mattered to her, she had since learned to look past what a person was, and to look into [i]who[/i] a person is. "You were expecting me sooner?"

"I did indeed. Now, before you start asking your questions, I must warn you that I may not be able to answer all of them." Igor punctuated his disclaimer with a flourish of his arm.

"I understand, Sir." Midori paused. "I just don't know where to begin."

"Perhaps you may start by telling us how you have been doing?" The silky voice from behind her sent shivers down Midori's spine. She turned to look at the speaker, and for a moment caught a glimpse of a golden pillar of light that dissolved into an extremely handsome man. He was tall, with his brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, a black turtleneck sweater and pants offset the gleaming white mask with a golden butterfly wing. In short, he was beautiful, and there was no comparing him to normal men. He also screamed out his inhumanity, despite the fact that as she looked at him, she could be certain that he would never do anything to betray or hurt mankind.

At her gape, he smiled at her and offered a polite ow, ignoring the annoyed look from Igor. "Ah, pardon me. I have failed to introduce myself to you, young Midori Komaki. My name is Philemon. I am something of an associate of Igor's. We share certain... shall I say, business interests? But please, I have kept you from your tale long enough. Please, begin."

Midori found his voice compelling, and without hesitation, began to speak about how the others were changing their outlooks on life, becoming more resolved in the face of the Apathy syndrome, and the final battle against the Shadows coming up shortly.

She wondered aloud if because she was faking having a real Persona, that they would notice when Frosty didn't change along with the rest of them. She was worried that they would find out and kick her out of SEES.

Philemon laughed. It wasn't a hurtful thing, just the sound of a man who enjoyed a good, honest laugh. Neither Igor nor Theodore shared in his mirth, but allowed it to pass. "Oh my dear child, I believe you have it backwards! You are not being lost to them, but rather they see themselves as catching up to you!"

Midori blinked, the words making sense, but their meaning not.

Igor chose this moment to interject an elaboration. "If I understand my... associate correctly, then he is telling you that your Black Frost is not seen as a thing to be left behind, but rather as some form of goal post to be reached. That your personal situation has given you an advantage over your fellows that is now only being closed."

"Huh?" Midori shook her head against the implications. "That can't be! They've all been doing this longer than I have! And I only have Frosty as a card!" She produced the artifact in question, and Philemon plucked it from her grasp to hand over to Igor.

"You are over thinking things, good child." Philemon added. "I can see in your heart that you are a person of emotion and feelings, not one of intellect and analysis. You must trust yourself, be true to your own self. You are a goal for them to attain, not a measure to be discarded. You to them, they to you. I am certain you will find your place."

Igor grunted. "I thought there might have been an issue with the card itself, but nothing is wrong." he passed it back to Midori who examined it closely for any imperfection herself. "Is that all?" Midori nodded. "Then you best be off. You shouldn't keep him waiting."

Midori stood, bowed to all three people around her, thanking them for their time. Quietly making her way back to the door leading out into the real world, she bowed once more in gratitude, then was gone.

Igor levelled a gaze at Philemon that spoke volumes of his displeasure. "That was completely unnecessary!"

The form of Philemon began to fade. "On the contrary, it was. You must learn to be more... social with your clients, my dear Igor. They depend on you, as much as you depend on them. Tell me, how would you have responded to her concerns? Could you have?"

Igor and Theodore were left alone in the Velvet room, pondering the words of their own master.

**Paulowina Mall**

She found him over by the arcade, playing the Crane Game that she herself had wasted may many yen on, trying to get at that precious Jack Frost doll. "Hey! I'm back! Everything is alright with Frosty, and you said you had something for me?" She leaned forward to try and look up into his face, but he was too far down and too focused on the game in front of him to notice.

But Minato's hand slipped. And he was so close to winning that Jack Frost this time! "That was faster than I was expecting." He backed off from the machine that only took his money, and never gave back his dreams, he went back over what he was going to give to her. "Ah, yes. I remember. I know a person who can make stuff out of the Nihil gear we find." At Midori's understanding nod, he went on, gesturing that she should follow him.

At the central fountain, Minato produced a tonfu from his bag and passed it over to her. She took it in hand, and felt its weight. She had developed a liking for heavier weapons, and this was nice. "I know you know it's not my birthday, nor is it any other gift-giving day, so what's up?"

Minato tapped it gently. "Yukari was annoyed with having to Recarm you all the time, so I had this made special for you. Out here, it's nothing special, but in the Dark Hour, it will help your staying power in battle."

"Oh! You mean more hitpoints?"

Minato groaned. "No! This isn't an RPG. Rather, it generates a small Rakukaja effect, the one that makes you tougher."

Midori held it up and looked at it with glowing love. "COOL! I'll keep the old one just in case. Maybe I'll dual wield!"

"So, what did you want to talk to Igor about?"

"Oh, this and that."

"Not telling, huh? Well, I know what that's like." Minato stood up. "Shall we head back to the Dorm?"

**27 October 2009**

**Gekkoukan High School, Student Council Room**

**After School**

Midori stood at attention as she and Rio were the only ones in the room who weren't on the Student Council. She saw Mitsuru at the head of the circle of tables, with Odagiri beside her. Chihiro off to one side going over certain financial records. Aigis and Minato stood near the back, out of the way, yet ready for action.

She had a very good idea about what was going to happen, and she didn't like it one bit.

It was Odagiri that took the lead as this was under his purview. "Do you two know why you're here?" Although Midori didn't know for certain, she nodded in time with her senior. "After careful review of the situation regarding the Tennis Club, and the actions of its membership, the Student Council has decided that the Club as is can no longer function within the bounds of the rules and regulations as set forth by this school. Effective immediately, the club is disbanded."

Midori's knees wanted to give out, but it was Rio who looked like she wanted to be sick to her stomach. Uncaring, Odagiri kept talking. "Be that as it may, it is the wishes of the student body that a tennis club does exist. Therefore, this Student Council is creating two separate Tennis Clubs. One is to be exclusively competitive with all the support of the school behind it to participate in tournaments around the country and be an exemplar of our competitive student body. The other shall be a more casual club designed to promote physical fitness and well-being."

It was Mitsuru's turn to speak. "Iwasaki Rio, due to your skill at training, we are allowing you to run the more serious club. Komaki Midori will join you. You both will need to find at least three other people to join, knowing what will be required of them."

Midori barely heard the rest of Mitsuru's speech. Hearing her own suggestion taken and run with was a huge jolt to her system. And she may have saved the club as well! Then her building sense of euphoria crashed when Mitsuru cleared her throat. "Komaki, I will want to talk to you in private afterwards."

Oh. She realized that she was still in trouble.

Several minutes later, waiting outside the Council office, Vice President Odagiri was the last one to leave. He saw her waiting in the hallway and approached casually. "Your suggestion had merit, Komaki-san. It was well received when we talked to former members of your club. Now go on in. President Kirijo is waiting."

Bowing politely, Midori walked past the Vice-President and entered into the Student Council Room, this time with only her and Mitsuru in it. She took her previous place and waited for Mitsuru to speak.

"Why didn't you come to me with this sooner?" The question was asked with her trademark chill, but Midori thought that Mitsuru didn't mean to, it just came naturally in this scenario. Her response was silence. How was she supposed to tell Mitsuru that she didn't say anything because she didn't want to impose?

"I suppose I can't blame you entirely. Evidence shows that this has been building since before you came to Gekkoukan. It would be inappropriate for me to place blame on you."

Midori was stunned. Was Mitsuru... apologizing to her? That couldn't be! "I'm not sure what you're getting at, Kirijo-senpai. I only did what I could for the betterment of the club and school." It wasn't technically a lie, but she just hoped to buy herself some time to sort out what was really happening.

For her part, Mitsuru nodded. "Perhaps that is the best way to look at it. Dismissed."

Midori walked out, very, very confused.

**01 November 2009**

**Tartarus, Tziah Block**

**The Dark Hour**

Minato looked over the top of Tartarus, then over the edge, looking down. "There has to be more than this. There's still one more Full Moon to go." In his gut, he began to dread the possibility that destroying the last Arcana wouldn't solve the problems at hand.

**02 November 2009**

**Minatodai Dormitory, 1st Floor Lounge**

**Evening**

They sat around the table, Mitsuru at her customary spot at the head with Koromaru, Ken, Midori, Yukari, Minato, Aigis, Junpei, Fuuka and Akihiko in a clockwise direction. "Well, tomorrow will be our final operation." Fuuka spoke, awkwardly breaking the silence around them all. "We've been through a lot."

Junpei huffed. "It's a lot better than anything else I could think of! Right? Besides, without all this, I would have never gotten to know any of you. I'm surrounded by babes!"

Fuuka leaned forward to allow Akihiko to punch Junpei in the shoulder. "Behave," he warned. "Or I'll tell Chidori you're cheating on her." Junpei could only look a mixture of horrified and shocked at that suggestion.

"I guess so." Ken added in, his voice heavy with the memories of Shinjiro dying to protect him.

"Well, if you ask me, it was worth every minute of it." Akihiko read Ken's mood and manoeuvred t pull it in a different direction. "It's been over two years since I first awakened to this power, and you won't hear me complain." He examined his hands as though he was trying to decide what to do with them once the morning of the 4th rolled around.

"Lucky you." Midori shot back. "I've been at this for, what, eight weeks now? I feel like I'm just getting started. Having it end so soon just feels wrong to me."

"And Aigis has been active for ten years now!" Fuuka looked at the standing robot who only nodded in response. "That's a lot longer."

"I have not been active for all that time. I was asleep for most of it." Aigis added to her prior acceptance. "My total active time has been closer to six months."

"How about you, Senpai? You started before Akihiko-san." Yukari added in her question, directing it at Mitsuru.

Shaking her head clear of the cobwebs of memory, Mitsuru paused, then spoke. "... Me? Well, yes. It was just me at first. I was made aware of the Dark Hour since I was a child. When the accident happened, and my father's research team was attacked by shadows, that was when I awoke to my power. I was the first."

She took a deep breath and looked around her to the people who had chosen of their own will to stand with her against the Shadows. None of them had to do it, save maybe Aigis, but they all threw themselves into the Dark Hour, asking for nothing in return. This loyalty to each other, would it stay once the Dark Hour was gone? Mitsuru hoped so. "I don't know if my burden has been terrible to you; if I hadn't awoken, would the rest of you have? I'm sorry..."

Midori glared, slamming her hand on the table. "Hey! Don't say that! If not you, then someone else would have been first! And I know they couldn't have done half as good a job as you did!"

Akihiko agreed. "It would have happened eventually. This is an enemy that can't be ignored."

"... I suppose that's true. Thank you, all."

Minato stood. "Then I suggest we all get some sleep, and rest up. Tomorrow's the big day. We can celebrate afterwards."


	11. 03 Nov 2009

**03 November 2009**

**Minatodai Dorm, 4th Floor Control Room**

**The Dark Hour**

Bouncing back and forth on her feet, Midori's heart felt like it would explode from her chest as Fuuka scanned for the final Shadow. A part of her wanted to turn back time to the first so she could help everyone from the start, but this, it seemed, was the end of the story. She had helped save the world! Again!

Well, in about an hour, of course. No sense in getting ahead of herself.

"I've found it!" Fuuka announced, her own eagerness quite apparent. "It's at the Moonlight Bridge!" She was about to deactivate Juno when she gasped. "No! I sense STREGA is there too! The two of them!"

A tense atmosphere descended before Junpei grinned. "Three for the price of one? Does anyone here have a discount card that needs stamped, because I'm liking these odds."

"Shut up, Stupei." Yukari filed out with everyone else, leaving the failed joke in the air.

**Moonlight Bridge, South Entrance**

This time of night, the bridge across the bay was mostly empty. Although that still meant that there were quite a few cars and other vehicles that sat in still motion, caught between one moment and the next. Curious, Midori looked into one of the cars along the roadway to see how the transmogrified people inside managed to fit their coffins into the small spaced.

One look inside was enough to convince her to not try again; the reality of it was more mind-bending than looking into the real face of Babel. She rubbed her forehead to work away the headache that threatened to take her mind off the fights they were going to get into shortly.

They spread out in a thin line across the roadway as they approached the two figures in an empty space in the middle of the road. Waiting for them was Takaya and Jin, the latter flipping a grenade in his hand while the former checked the load on his revolver one last time. "You know the significance of this day, do you not?" The shirtless man waved his weapon in the air in defiance of all gun-safety. "You claim to hunt the Shadows of this Hour to prevent some ill-defined disaster! He waited for Minato to get closer before continuing in a more reasonable tone of voice.

"Why? To fight evil? You should know that the powers we are granted are not evil in the slightest! So what would you want to fight it? Admit your sins!"

He stopped raving for a moment to catch his breath.

"You cannot _truly_ wish to eliminate the Dark Hour and all that comes with it! To do so would be to erase yourselves! How can you not see this truth, you foolish insolent CHILDREN!"

"Hey! Idiot!" Midori shot back with vigour. "The Dark Hour is a blight on the world! A wound! A crack in the world that never should have been!" The others looked at her as she tried to prove Takaya wrong without revealing all that she really knew.

"If we get rid of these Shadows, the Dark Hour will heal over! We won't stop being ourselves for it. In fact, we can even become better!"

"IMPUDENT BRAT! You speak of such things as if you know the truth! But it is beyond your feeble comprehension!" Takaya delving into mere name-calling only cemented in Midori's mind that he was just making stuff up.

Jin tapped his partner on the shoulder, pointing back over the bridge. In the distance hung a figure in the air. The last Full Moon Shadow, the Hanged Man. "It would appear as though our time is short." Takaya raised his hands to the green-tinted moon in supplication, asking for a blessing to prolong his source of power, the proof he used to justify his own existence.

Minato, however, said a different thing. "Mitsuru, Midori, Junpei, Ken. You hold off these two. The rest of you, we get around them and take out the Shadow. First to finish, go help the other group."

Akihiko opened his mouth to object to being denied his chance to exact punishment on Takaya for killing Shinji, but thought better of it. Midori's words rang in his head, words spoken from personal experience. "Careful Ken, and follow Midori's lead where Takaya is concerned."

Takaya, too far away to hear the lowered speech called out one last time. "As I believed. Our goals are irreconcilable. Come, MAGGOTS!"

SEES broke into a run, the two groups splitting while Fuuka stayed back a safe distance, activating Juno in the process. She would do her best to help Mitsuru's group while Minato's headed for the Shadow, then switch to helping them. "These two are going to be serious! Fight hard!"

Midori had experience fighting people with guns. Her encounter with the SDF at the edge of the Circle, plus the platoon trapped inside and condemned to the same death as everyone else, in addition to some fights with Police or Yakuza Tamers meant that she had developed a quick sense in how to not get shot.

And how to treat gunshot wounds, as Akihiko had noticed a month ago. So she focused on Takaya, his gun in hand still, though pointed at the ground. Drawing her Evoker and tonfu, he raised his weapon and looked around for a target. Their eyes met, the first time the two of them had crossed paths. "Brat! Know your place!" It would be the last, if either of them had anything to say about it.

He pulled the trigger, aiming with his whole arm. Midori watched with calm detachment as his aim was truly horrible. She wasn't scared of him, or his weapon. She had seen far worse things. As his finger tightened around the trigger, she changed direction, crossing against the motion of his arm; the bullet whizzed by behind her and out over the water.

Too far away before he could re-centre his aim, Midori pressed her Evoker to her chest, feeling the pressure on Frosty's card. "FROSTY!" she yelled as her aim was true. The shadow of her friend materialized and fire danced between the two STREGA members.

Some flares struck Takaya, and seemed to take it well, while Jin only grinned, his Persona protecting him from all fire.

Mitsuru wiped the smirk off his face with a solid blast of ice.

Snarling, Jin pulled the pin on the grenade in his hand, and rolled it towards Mitsuru. She dived behind a car to take shelter before it exploded. A shard of concrete was ripped off the roadway and slashed under the car, stabbing into Mitsuru's leg. She bit back a scream from the heat as Jin taunted her. "There's no cure for stupidity!"

"Hey! I take offence to that!" Junpei sent Hermes against Jin. After seeing Midori's own Agi skills failed to harm him, he went back to what he was better at doing. Beating people over the head with a baseball bat.

Ken ran over to the hobbled Mitsuru, and blanched at the sight of the shard sticking out of her leg. "Leave it!" she said, "Just heal it!" He did so, and then helped her lean against the car for cover, allowing her a view of the battleground. "Go! Get in there, and watch out!" She put her Evoker to her head and began to pelt Takaya and Jin with her own attacks.

Hoping to distract STREGA from targeting Mitsuru, Junpei rushed Jin, but the briefcase wielder simply stepped to one side, allowing him to pass by harmlessly.

"You bother me, pest. Now is the time for your punishment!" Takaya dropped to his knees, holding his head in pain. Not quite understanding what was going on, Midori was surprised when a pale and winged Persona emerged from Takaya's head, and blasted a shard of Bufu right at her.

But she did have enough sense to meet the magic with open arms, allowing Frosty to block the energy from the attack. With him on the ground, she took the opening to dash in at him, bringing her Tonfu down on his gun arm. "MAGICAL JUSTICE!" she yelled in triumph as she reversed her grip and smashed the weapon into his chest – a one-two that knocked the white-haired nihilist to the ground.

Ken, following Akihiko's instruction to follow Midori, sent Kali-Nama to strike Takaya while he was down.

And the battle continued.

**Apex of the Moonlight Bridge**

The Hanged Man hung over the other other half of SEES. They had found that by destroying its rooting sub-shadows, they could cause it to fall down to the bridge and within reach of the mortals below for a moment before taking back to the air.

"This is going to take forever!" Akihiko growled as the Hanged Man pulled away, just in time to avoid a hit from Aigis. "Damn, I never thought I'd loose in a race against the others!"

**Base of the Moonlight Bridge**

For on two is never good odds for the two. This became more and more apparent to Takaya and Jin as they were slowly pushed back towards the side of the bridge. Takaya himself was growing distressed as each round of combat saw the newest member of SEES take seeming pleasure in targeting him. She could read his body language like no other, and with a start, he finally realized that this was not the first time she had fought against a gun. All the psychological advantages he normally enjoyed were turned against him as she kept pummelling him with weapon and Persona.

Jin backed up another step, only to find the safety railing at his back. He cast a quick glance backwards at the bloody water far below. "Dammit!" He cursed loudly as he dodged a shot of ice from Mitsuru, still behind cover. "Is their power **THAT** different than ours?" Takaya was unable to answer, gasping for breath through a bruised ribcage.

Mitsuru loped forward. "Different?" Her question and voice were as full of accusation as she could make them through the pain in her leg. "Personas are Personas. There is nothing different about them."

Straightening up, Jin found he was out of grenades, the last of which had been knocked right back at him by Junpei. "You ignorant broad! Didn't your friend tell you? We have to force them out!"

Confused, Mitsuru decided to take the opportunity to get more information out of the two of them before moving in to capture both. Looking around, she saw that everyone was slowly recovering, but even Midori, who true to form, had pushed herself to the brink while having the least durable Persona. The glance at Midori was enough to remind her that not all Personas were created equal, and she reached a conclusion that shocked her deeply. "Wait... Yoshino's pills... You were the ones giving them to Shinji?"

Jin tried to laugh. "You don't have a clue!" He looked to Takaya, who was slowly beginning to recover. "It doesn't matter to the _normal_ people! But for us? When the Dark Hour vanishes...!"

"Enough!" Takaya finally regained his composure enough to shut Jin up with a snarled word. "This... ephemeral body! I am worthless without power!" He put the revolver to his head. "I shall prove my existence!" He pulled the trigger as Jin, Midori and Junpei all lunged at him to prevent the suicide.

Click.

The hammer came down on an empty chamber, and Jin wrestled the gun away from his limp hands. "Don't be so reckless! Your words still have meaning!" He pulled Takaya close to him, leaning on the railing. "You win! You get your wish! Now _suffer_!"

"WAIT!" Junpei yelled, his arm reaching out from too far away.

"This is how we live." With that, Jin leaned over the railing, dragging himself and Takaya over the edge of the bridge and into the abyss. Instantly, the four SEES members rushed to the edge and looked over, trying to spot their fallen foes.

"I don't..." Ken tried to say the words, but they were caught on him being denied revenge and justice for the second time.

"There's no way..." Mitsuru began to say when Midori cut her off.

"Mitsuru-senpai. If you say that there was no way for them to have survived that fall, I'll be very disappointed." She decided that now was a good time to collapse against the railing, letting her tired body catch up with her. "I mean, we didn't really defeat them. They dive off a tall height to escape us. Of _course_ they survived. We'll just have to choose our next battleground better."

"Uh, Midori, I hate to be the voice of reason here, but this isn't one of the shows you and Ken watch." Junpei spoke up, as surprised as anyone at his comment.

Considering her retort, Midori finally saw Mitsuru's limping, and the reason for it. "You! Lay down!" She stood up and gestured for her senior to do as she was told. "When did that happen?"

Mitsuru looked down at the still injured limb. "At the start. I haven't felt it. Must be the adrenaline."

"Damn it! Lay down now!" She commanded her senior in a far more stern tone of voice than she was used to giving. "What were you thinking, walking around like that?"

"I'll be alright." Mitsuru tried to brush off Midori's concern, but the blunette would have none of it.

"Junpei help me out here. I need you to hold her leg steady as I remove the... whatever it is." She gestured for Junpei to assist, causing the young man to balk. "I don't have time for this! Help me remove it before it gets infected!"

There was something in her eyes that forced Iori to move. "I'm sorry Senpai," he said as he gently forced her to the ground. "but even I know it's not good to leave stuff like that in the body."

Realizing that she was going to lose this argument for good and sound reasons, Mitsuru sat down, putting her leg out for Midori to look at. "Ken healed it already."

"I know," Midori said flatly. "You shouldn't have. All the Dia magic did was to heal around the splinter. Thankfully it's not bleeding internally."

"Uh, Midori-chan?" Ken asked as it seemed like she was being critical of his help. "Have you done this before?"

"Yes!" Midori snapped before realizing what she had said. "I'm sorry Ken. It's just this isn't the first time I've had to do first aid like this. Thankfully the shard looks like it isn't jagged so I don't have to worry about tearing on the way out." She shuddered, memories of watching over Mari-sensei's shoulder as she did similar things to people who needed it. "Alright... Ken I'll need you to heal this again after I've taken it out. Junpei, you got the leg steady?"

The two males nodded. "Oh, and Mitsuru-senpai? This'll hurt." With no further warning, Midori grabbed and slid the concrete shard out of the leg, causing Mitsuru to grit her teeth against the pain. "Ken!" Another invocation of Kali-Nama and the wound closed up again.

Holding the piece of roadway in her hand, Midori gave it a completely disbelieving look. "Seriously? All this for something that went in, maybe half an inch?" She tossed it over the side of the bridge, never to be seen again. "Stand up. You'll be fine. As long as the wound doesn't re-open."

"For now," Mitsuru agreed, "Iori and Amada, go to the aid of the others. Midori, take your time, I'll stay with you." She took a moment to massage her leg. "We will not treat Strega as destroyed until we find their bodies."

"Right-o, Mitsuru-senapi." Junpei began to jog off, headed for the upper battle still taking place, Ken following a few steps behind.

Mitsuru began to walk, Midori matching her pace. "You said something interesting back there, to Takaya. That the Dark Hour was a wound. What did you mean by that?"

Too exhausted to argue, Midori just kept walking. "I thought it was obvious. The Dark Hour is something that isn't natural, and will exist as long as these Full Moon Shadows, right? Well, I called it that, because it seemed like the right thing to do." And not because that was how she currently interpreted Igor's warning and description. "It's like a scab that you keep picking at, preventing the injury from healing properly, that's what the Shadows are."

Mitsuru nodded in understanding. "That's a very interesting way of looking at the situation. I can recall a few times where such a simple interpretation would have helped." She looked down at her leg again. "I must thank you for your intervention. You handled yourself well."

Dismissing the concern, Midori replied carefully. "It was one of those things I picked up during the Lockdown."

"Makes sense. Your knowledge of how healing magic interacted with treating the wound confirmed a theory I have."

Midori froze. "what"

"I am aware that you awakened as a Persona user during the Lockdown, in addition to many others. You don't need to hide this fact from me. In fact, I can understand completely why you would choose to keep it a secret in general."

Mind racing, Midori tried to figure out how Mitsuru apparently went from 'Summoning Demons' to 'evoking Persona' during those seven days. "Would you mind if I chose to say nothing at all?"

"No. Of course not."

The two looked up at the sound of a screech, seeing nothing but the dissolving form of the last Shadow. "Come, it appears as though we are done."

**Moonlight Bridge, Apex**

All ten members of SEES gathered in a loose circle around where the Hanged Man had finally been put down. "Is it over? Really?" Junpei asked, disbelief in his voice.

"I can detect no trace of the Shadow." Aigis confirmed. "Operation – no – Mission Complete."

Yukari's shoulders dropped, the grip on her bow loose. "Yes! It's finally over!"

"I believe that Minato promised a celebration" commented Aigis. "What is the protocol for such things?"

"FOOD!" yelled Junpei. "Come on Senpai! You can splurge, just this once! Get the good stuff!"

Mitsuru looked abashed at the sudden demand. "Well, I suppose I could arrange it. I will have to invite Father..."

"WOO-HOO! I want Sushi!"

Akihiko chuckled at the exuberance from Junpei. "Fine. I haven't had a good plate of sushi in a long time. My training regiment can take it if I do it just this once. I got dibs on the Halibut!"

"Salmon Roe!" Fuuka and Midori called out at the same time, causing the two to share a glance then erupt into laughter.

The rest made their own dream requests, and Mitsuru promised that no expense would be spared. It was going to be their victory celebration, and they would earn it.

**Minatodai Dormitory, Front stairs**

"I guess it's time to say goodbye to the Dark Hour." Minato paused on the threshold to their home, looking up at the large green moon.

"Saving the world! All in a day's work for the Magical Warrior of Love and Justice!" Midori weakly proclaimed as she tried to raise her hand in victory. Her exhaustion had finally caught up to her, and she was far too tired to put more effort into it, hoping that Aigis would be able to help her up to her room before she fell asleep properly.

"You know, I'll miss many things. But I don't think I'll miss that." Minato opened the door to allow everyone to come in.


	12. 04 Nov 2009

**04 November 2009**

_It's DOLLY!_

_Today is a wonderful day! I suppose everyone one of you, my adoring fans has had one of those days where everything in the world is just perfect? Well, I'm having one of those days, I'm just ready to burst out in joy!_

_Oh, before I leave all my loyal viewers to enjoy the outside – which, by the way, you should all do as well, maybe you'll see me – what's your favourite kind of sushi? There's a thread on the forum for you guys to vote and argue. But please, keep it clean, alright?_

**Minatodai Dorm, 1****st**** Floor Lounge**

**Evening**

Junpei was awestruck, and just a little close to worshipping the ground Mitsuru walked on. When he had asked for the good stuff, Mitsuru delivered exactly as promised. On the table were three large platters of the finest sushi that any of them had ever seen. "Fresh from my father's personal chef" she said, proud of the arrangement.

"These slices... they're huge!" For once, Yukari was glad for Junpei and his big mouth.

"So, where's Ikutsuki-san and Aigis?" Minato wondered aloud as he brought the plates, chopsticks and other required materials in from the kitchen, Ken behind him with more.

"The Chairman was concerned with Aigis' use of her Orgia Mode last night and he took her back to the lab for a tuneup." Akihiko shook his head sadly. "He said they'll join us later."

The sounds of a car pulling up out front caused the conversation to die down a notch. Mitsuru looked out the window and identified the vehicle. "My father has arrived." Looking down, she made sure her perfectly arranged clothes were still perfect. "Ah! This will be Amada and Komaki's first meeting with him. You two are to be on your best behaviour."

"What about Koro-chan?" Ken asked as he quickly checked his clothes for lint. "Doesn't he get a warning too?"

Mitsuru smiled. "If I thought he needed reminding about that, I would have given him one."

"HEY!" Both Midori and Ken objected to the unsubtle jab. Feeling pleased with himself, Koromaru simply wagged his tail. Then he saw that Junpei was already going at the Sushi, putting some carefully onto a plate and he growled a warning.

"What?" Junpei defended himself carefully. "Look, I asked Chidori what kind of sushi she liked, and now I'm making sure there's some available to take to her!" His defence earned him a small reprieve from the dog who escorted him back to the kitchen to make sure.

Together, they greeted Takeharu Kirijo at the door. Mitsuru took her place at the fore both by dint of blood relation and also by being the nominal leader of SEES and welcomed her father properly.

Or, as Midori privately noted, like a business meeting. She had seen warmer greetings from hostile Demons than "We've been waiting for you" and "So it's over at last". She almost rolled her eyes at the realization that they hadn't even said each others names!

Kirijo's two bodyguards stood by the door, taking in the entire room. Meeting their eyes, Midori refused to break contact out of worry or fear. But she felt no hostility from them, only the tenseness of people doing their jobs in an unfamiliar environment.

Kirijo-san raised his voice to be heard clearly, a well practised mode of speaking. "Thank you. Everyone. There are no words to express the depths of my gratitude, as well as the well-wishes of all those on behalf you have fought, even if they will never know. And outside of this building, you will never receive the recognition that you so rightly deserve. You have achieved something beyond measure, and all of those – including myself – whose mistakes led to this owe you all for lending us your power."

Yukari bowed. "It was no big deal, sir."

Kirijo accepted the humility with equal grace. "Nevertheless, the twelve Shadows that were the cause of all our troubles for these many years have been destroyed. Thus, the burdens that they have placed on all of us are no longer yours to bear; you all deserve what was taken from you. A chance at a proper youth. Therefore, the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad will be formally dissolved as of Midnight, tonight.

"Tomorrow, you can return to your classes with heads held high. Your normal lives."

Midori felt the bottom drop out of her stomach, taking her heart with her. A quick look around confirmed that pretty much everyone had the same reaction. They had spent weeks, months, years... all living this double life of humanity and shadows. To have it removed to suddenly was a blow none of them seemed quite prepared for.

"Is there something the matter?" Kirijo looked around at the young people in front of him, not expecting a strained silence in response to his proclamation.

"I'm sorry sir," Midori put her feelings into words as best she could. "It's just that... well..."

For a moment, the elder Kirijo didn't quite connect the dots. Then he did. "Ah. I understand." He nodded his head in an abbreviated bow. "I apologize for my brusk behaviour. You have just finished your work and need time to centre yourselves."

Mitsuru gestured at the table. "No matter. Let us celebrate. Our feast awaits."

"Suh-WEET!" Finally freed of his formal obligations, Junpei was the first to go for the food, this time serving himself as people lined up around him. Minato paused by the door in reflection before joining his friends for one last meal together.

Rationing herself carefully, Midori justified the empty space as being the result of skipping lunch and not wanting to gorge herself, and not at all with her figure. Finding a place to eat in peace, she was quite surprised when Takeharu Kirijo sat down beside her, a plate of sushi in his hands. "Is this seat taken?"

Midori froze in his presence. The _eyepatch_ alone was enough to make her want to quail, even though she had faced far more inhumane things. Perhaps it was because he was human that the effect was magnified. But gathering her courage she stood her ground. "No sir. Would you like me to move? To make room for your daughter?"

"No, thank you. You are Komaki Midori, correct? SEES' last member?"

Nodding slowly, she felt her built up courage slowly slink away. A quick glance showed that no one was paying them any attention, not even Mitsuru, who was busy reading Junpei the riot act for swiping food for Chidori first and not telling her.

Oh, and she spotted Yukari and Minato sharing a plate! That was a good distraction for all of three seconds.

Aware that she was seeking an escape, and knowing full well what sort of image he could put out, Kirijo moved on to making sure that Midori knew she wasn't in trouble. "I wanted to thank you personally for your efforts. Given the circumstances which led you here, Mitsuru speaks highly of your motivation and eagerness to succeed. I must say, such things give me hope for the future of our nation."

He had to be referring to the official story of the Tokyo Lockdown. "Thank you, sir. It has been an honour and a pleasure to work with your daughter and everyone else these past months."

"That is good to hear. How is she? As a leader? You have the freshest view on her, and she notes you are not above speaking your mind, so I would like your honest answer."

She couldn't help it. Midori stared at him. Did he just ask her in a roundabout way how his daughter was doing? "Sir, wouldn't someone like Fuuka or Akihiko or Minato be a better person to ask?"

He shook his head. "No, they all have their own perceptions of Mitsuru. I am asking for yours."

_Your daughter is a conceited control freak_, Midori pushed down the built-up memory of her impressions of the younger Kirijo in favour of something that wouldn't possibly get the one-eyed man annoyed with her. "She knows when to let others lead, sir." It was true, right? She took orders from Minato in battle, just like the rest of them.

Kirijo considered this. "An interesting perspective. What else?"

Midori put down her plate gently, then turned to face Kirijo directly. Let no one say she was a coward. She had faced down far more dangerous things than this. Leaning in, she spoke flatly. "I don't know what it's like between you and your daughter. But asking _me_ if she's doing alright is just plain _wrong_. How can you expect to learn about her if you can't ask _her_?"

Deciding she had pushed enough buttons in the name of Love, Midori took her leave of Takeharu, deciding that Fuuka would be far better company if her seat across from the Yukari and Minato Show was any indication.

It was much alter when Junpei announced that he was completely stuffed, ending the meal that he had started. "How about we take a group photo?"

A round of agreement quickly chimed in and Kirijo told one of his bodyguards to take the picture for them, which they did without complaint.

"Shouldn't we wait for Aigis and the Chairman?" Ken asked as he set down the last of his sushi.

"They missed supper, they miss the photo. We can take another one later with just us in it. Kirijo-san, would you like to join us?" Junpei offered, and Kirijo accepted.

Minato tapped Akihiko on the shoulder. "When we do the real one, remember to grab Shinji's picture, alright?"

Akihiko froze for a moment, then smiled. "You're right. For the real one, then."

The picture was taken with no hassles, despite Junpei trying to have some fun with it. Minato and Akihiko combined forces to keep the slacker's arms in place while the girls took the second row with Ken and Koromaru at the front.

As midnight approached, Ken had fallen asleep on the couch, and Midori was pleased to see that the two Kirijo's had stepped off to one side and were, well, saying words at one another. It was a start. She helped the two bodyguards clear the food away as Junpei complained that Aigis and Ikutsuki still weren't back yet. "Maybe we should give him a call? It's almost midnight."

Kirijo took the hint, worried himself, and was on the phone, trying to connect to Ikutsuki when the clock struck midnight.

**The Dark Hour**

Midori smacked her nose running into the coffin that used to be one of the bodyguards. She circled around and saw that the rest of SEES and Kirijo were in a slight state of panic. Ken was saying that something just didn't feel right about the Dark Hour going away like that, and Midori loudly cleared her throat, failing to get people's attention.

Finally she resorted to the time honoured tradition of the piercing whistle. "Raise your hand if you really thought the Dark Hour would just vanish when we were done?" A lot of confused looks came back at her, then people started raising their hands. "Alright. Who thought that the Dark Hour, an artificial wound in the nature of the world would take time to heal up properly as the real world slowly worked to fill in the gaps?" Only Midori put up her hand. "You guys. Seriously? You all thought that we'd win so cleanly and simply?" She sighed and shook her head sadly.

Mitsuru echoed the sentiment. "Komaki is right. We placed all our hopes on the Dark Hour vanishing instantly. That it didn't is no cause for concern."

DONG.

Yukari snapped around to face the front of the building. "What was that?"

DONG.

"A bell..." Kirijo said as the others gathered by the front window.

DONG.

DONG.

"It's coming from Tartarus, isn't it?" Midori spoke, a slight tinge of annoyance in her voice.

DONG.

"Yes." Minato said.

DONG.

"Me and my big mouth."

DONG.

"Maybe the bell is tolling the end of the Dark Hour?" Fuuka offered, her voice extremely shaky.

DONG.

"I wouldn't bet on it." Akihiko countered.

DONG.

Ken woke up. "Huh?"

DONG.

Yukari backed away from the window, fear in her step. "No, no, no! We finished this!"

DONG.

_DONG._

**DONG.**

"Get your equipment, we're going to Tartarus." Mitsuru made her orders clear as she turned for the staircase. "Prepare for battle."

Midori followed, leaving behind a cursing Takeharu Kirijo, who tried again and again to contact the two missing SEES members.

**Outside Tartarus**

They arrived at the gates to Tartarus to find Aigis and Ikutsuki waiting for them. "Chairman! Aigis! You're here! We were worried." Akihiko called out only for a threatening silence to fall between the two groups.

"Aigis?" Fuuka called out plaintively, hoping for a response.

Ikutsuki answered for her. "She is here to play the role she was created for. A weapon."

Midori was instantly on edge. Something in the way he spoke reminded her far too closely of the way Takaya spoke last night. Her hands inched towards her weapons, a motion that caught the attention of some of the others, who in turn tensed as well.

"What the hell's going on, man?" Junpei demanded. "You said the Dark Hour was going to be over!"

"That if we defeated the twelve Shadows," Akihiko added carefully, "that things would end. That is why we fought so hard! That is why we bled for this!" His voice raised a bit in rage at the possibility of betrayal.

"Than what was your intention?" Mitsuru demanded of Ikutsuki, hoping to reign in the growing passions around her. "Why lie? What possible benefit could you get from telling us the Dark Hour would vanish?"

"You are far to late, dear Mitsuru. Even if you are on the right track." Ikutsuki sounded quite serene, causing Midori to jump to a hasty conclusion from incomplete information.

"There's not Twelve, is there? There's Thirteen."

Ikutsuki beamed. "Brilliant!"

"You tricked us?" Ken demanded angrily.

Ikutsuki put his hands in his pockets. "It doesn't matter. Everything is as I have planned. It is not unexpected that Tartarus and the Dark Hour remain. On the contrary, really."

"What do you mean?" Fuuka asked as she reached out to stop the bouncing Midori, hoping to stop her from attacking Ikutsuki immediately.

"The twelve Shadows were part of a whole, divided ten years ago! They were destined to be reunited, a feat accomplished by your efforts! Thank you! You were wonderful! Soon, Death, the almighty, shall rise forth and bring about The Fall!"

Midori hissed, blood in her vision. This was wrong. This was the worst! The King of Bel would never stand for this, and neither would she!

"Death will be the beginning! We will be free from despair!" Ikutsuki proclaimed, as though lost in his own world.

"Are you OUT OF YOUR **MIND**? Junpei roared.

"You're talking nonsense!" Yukari added in.

"Ah, but you see, ten years ago, I too was a scientist for the project. The experiment certainly went awry, but that is not the cause of the Dark Hour and Tartarus. No, they manifested as the result of harvesting the Shadow's power – just as they were designed to do. That, my dear foolish Mitsuru, was why your grandfather gathered so many Shadows. To summon forth Death and the Fall!"

Shocked, Mitsuru tried to dismiss the madman's claims. "That can't be possible!"

"It is! People have filled the world, but they themselves are void! The only hope for salvation lies in the ruination of all things! According to the prophecy, The Fall will be orchestrated by 'The Prince', and once the Prince has delivered us all, he shall rule over the new world as a King!"

He gleefully turned his gaze upon each member of SEES. "The man who tried ten years ago failed. But I will not! I will succeed!"

"He's lost it..." Junpei commented sourly.

"I must apologize for deceiving you. But this was for your sake as well. If you will follow me for just a little longer, I can deliver you to your well earned reward."

"You call that _salvation_?" Fuuka yelled, the raging heat coming off Midori prompting her to speak up lest her friend do something they would all regret.

"Question." Yukari spoke calmly.

"Yes?"

"In the video from my father. He said to defeat the Shadows. Was that a lie?"

"Ah! Well, he did record that himself. I did, however, have to make some modifications."

"You doctored it?!" Mitsuru shot back, aghast at the level of treachery laid before her.

"I **FIXED IT**!" Ikutsuki replied, anger creeping into his voice. "Your father was a superb scientist. He may not have known my feelings, but I truly respected him for his ability to see the real nature of the Shadows! It is such a shame that he could not comprehend the magnificence of the Fall."

"What." Yukari's voice had lost all emotion.

"He left that message at the cost of his life! How dare you!" Mitsuru yelled back.

"I dared, because it was for the sake of the world! How could you not understand?"

Mitsuru drew her Evoker and placed it against her head. "Ours is a duty to correct the mistakes of the past. We shall do just that."

"Aigis! Capture them!" Ikutsuki yelled as Fuuka let go of Midori.

Midori charged past everyone else, aiming straight for Ikutsuki. This just meant that Aigis also got to her first, Orgia Mode screaming out her power. They met, too fast to bring Personas into play, they all went dark.


	13. 05 Nov 2009 to 06 Nov 2009

**05 November 2009**

**Kirijo Memorial Hospital, VIP Wing**

**Afternoon**

Midori opened her eyes to examine the ceiling one more time. Her body ached and she knew she had to try and remember what had...

Oh. Yes. Aigis beating the crap out of her.

"You're awake. Good. I shall summon a nurse."

Sitting upright, pain lanced through her side and head, causing Midori to wince. "Chidori-san?" She failed to focus her eyes on the girl sitting across from her realizing that she was missing her glasses. "How long was I asleep?"

"Only a couple hours this time." The red-head looked down at the drawing she was doing. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a truck."

Chidori didn't respond. "Junpei didn't tell me all the details. Also, Officer Kurosawa wanted to take your statement as soon as you are able to give one. Your friends came by, but they were called away."

Midori cradled her head in her hands. "Ikutsuki... he failed, right?"

Chidori paused to consider her words. "I believe it would be best if you spoke to one of your friends." A nurse entered and the two stopped talking as she examined Midori carefully. Once she removed her hospital shirt, she could see that not only was her head bandaged, but also her torso. She didn't see any bleeding, but from the familiar pain in her breathing, she figured cracked ribs at the least. The nurse also flashed a light into her eyes, checking them for additional damage.

A concussion. Aigis had given her a concussion that caused her to not remember clearly what happened last night. She did remember being woken up several times over the night, but it was all a blur.

Evidently, the nurse was satisfied with her condition, and ordered her to stay awake as long as possible. Leaving, the nurse ushered in Officer Kurosawa. He greeted Chidori politely before closing the privacy curtain around Midori's bed.

"First, I must inform you that I've been read into all the details about the Dark Hour and the fights you have had. I am no longer to be kept out of the loop." He said this as he pulled up a chair. "Due to the events of last night, I have been promoted in the ranks of the department, but that will not affect your ability to acquire resources from me in the future." Pulling out a pad of paper and a pen, he flipped open to a page scrawled with notes. "Now, about last night, please tell me what you remember."

At first hesitant, Midori soon spoke with firmer conviction as the act of reciting what happened since the start of the Dark Hour helped clear them up in her mind. How Kirijo had stayed behind to try and contact Ikutsuki, then their arrival at Tartarus and the encounter with Aigis and Ikutsuki. "I hit her, then I don't remember much after that. I do remember Akihiko telling someone to keep me awake though, but with the Dark Hour, it was hard."

Kurosawa nodded. "Thank you for your input. Now I will have to brief you on the official version of the events that occurred last night. On the evening of November the Fourth, Takeharu Kirijo came to the Minatodai Dormitory to both have a social visit with his daughter and to discuss business with Chairman Shuji Ikutsuki. During the business meeting, Chairman Ikutsuki drew a weapon and assaulted President Kirijo.

"You were on the roof at the time, and Ikutsuki fled to the rooftop where he took you hostage with the gun." The expression on Midori's face wavered between disbelief and shock. Kurosawa kept talking. "Kirijo came onto the roof and in the face of the threats against you with a weapon, allowed Ikutsuki back into the building. At the top of the stairs, Ikutsuki, ranting, pushed you down the stairwell in order to aim his weapon at President Kirijo. Your injuries were the result of that assault and fall. Seeing this, the President rushed the Chairman, who shot him once at close range. In the struggle, Kirijo took the weapon from Ikutsuki and killed him with it."

The blood drained from her face. Midori could see the ending of this tale coming.

"President Kirijo died of his wounds before reaching the hospital. Your injuries were light, and you were also taken to the hospital, where you are now."

Midori had nothing to say. "Dead? Kirijo-san is dead?"

Kurosawa nodded, although his face showed clearly that he too was holding back emotion in favour of doing his solemn duty. "Yes. That is the official story. Please stick to it. Any discrepancies will be attributed to your injuries." He rose. "I am sorry, but I must be going. Good day, and I wish you a speedy recovery."

Feeling numb, Midori muttered some vague thanks while trying to come to grips with what she had been told. She realized that she needed to hear the real story, and fast, before she burst from the pent-up energies. Until then, she couldn't even file the story she was supposed to stick to in with her other official coverups. She needed the truth to keep it together properly.

While she was poking at the food that had been put in front of her by a silent orderly, a knock came from the door, and a visitor poked his head in. "Midori?"

The person who came in was completely unexpected, and that made her response even more joyful. "DADDY!"

"MIDORI!" Her father rushed in and quickly embraced his daughter in a deep hug. "How's my little magical girl?" He got down to look at her face directly, worry etched into every part of his face. Out of the side of her eye, Midori saw Chidori roll her eyes at the love and affection put on display, and she didn't care one whit about it.

Father and daughter talked about everything that had gone on in the past couple months, with the obvious exception of the Dark Hour and everything related to it. Midori did, at her fathers insistence, introduce Chidori as Junpei's girlfriend who was in the hospital as a long-term patient – an introduction with caused Chidori to throw a glare that would melt metal at her.

"Ah, I know that look, sweetheart." The elder Komaki observed as Chidori sulked. "Anyways, thank you for watching over my daughter while she slept." He bowed deeply in appreciation until she grunted a response. "Oh, I think you annoyed her with that girlfriend comment, Mi-chan. I remember your mother doing stuff like that..."

The conversation drifted on past lunch and after school let out. Midori only noticed how time flew past when Akihiko loudly announced his presence as he led himself, Junpei, Minato and Fuuka into the room.

There was a round of introductions as Mr. Komaki and her fellow Dorm members met for the first time. They made much in the way of small talk, while Chidori kept dropping the room temperature every time she saw Junpei, which caused him no end of confusion, especially when she took the sushi he had delivered.

When a doctor came in, and told her that he needed to take a small blood sample for her weekly test, the others filed out, save her father, who moved over to sit beside Chidori as the privacy curtain was pulled.

"You're planning on... what's the word you kids use these days... dumping him?" He said quietly to Chidori as they waited.

She twisted to look at him, a confused expression on her face. "I don't see where that's any business of yours!"

Mr. Komaki shook his head sadly. "I can see it in your eyes when you looked at Junpei-san. You want to push him away, but you want to hold him close." Silence was his response, so he kept talking. "I don't know why you're here, but it is not worth it.

"Midori's mother... she didn't go quickly or quietly. I was with her the whole way. When she knew her en was coming soon, she tried to push me away. Much like what you were trying to do with that young man."

Now he had her attention.

"So I can tell you this. Pushing him away, because you think that will make him feel better when you are gone? No, that is the wrong thing to do. He wants to hold you close to share in your joy and suffering. Pushing him away won't make him change his mind." He paused, looking for the right words to say. "Just... don't try. You'll hurt him and you."

The doctor was finished and opened the curtain, allowing everyone back into the room, samples secured. Realizing he had spent quite a few hours with his daughter, and needing to go back to work (thanks to Kirijo supplied transportation), the middle-aged man also made his apologies and left.

"Wow, so that's the amazing Mr. Komaki." Junpei watched in slight awe as he left.

"I can see where you get some of your ideas." Fuuka added.

Minato wisely kept his opinions to himself. A man who raised his daughter after his wife's death by using magical girl shows as a means of entertainment? Granted, it was work related, and a way to build a family bond after it had been shattered...

Akihiko coughed. "Anyways, we got work about your recovery this morning, but this was the first we could get here reasonably."

"How's Mitsuru?" The words were out of her mouth before she was aware of it.

"She... isn't taking this well. She's back at her family's place in Yakushima going over things from her father's will." Akihiko finally said. "But we came to see how you were doing." He took the medical chart from where it was clipped at the foot of her bed, and flipped it up."

"So, what really happened? I have to know." Midori said as she shuffled around in her bed to make room for some sandwiches that Fuuka brought, as well as flowers that Junpei produced from somewhere.

So they told her. How Aigis had beaten her down in two blows, then reduced the rest of them in short order. The attempted sacrifice, Takeharu's arrival and the fight, before the two deaths. Chidori listened in with rapt attention, even though she feigned total disinterest.

"Once we got everyone down, Akihiko-san was very worried about you. It was worse that we had to wait for the Dark Hour to end before we could call Kurosawa-san. Aigis, overloaded, was shut down and taken back to the lab. She's coming back today, all better. Then you were taken away, and here we are." Fuuka finally finished off the tale.

Midori was shocked. She didn't have a frame of reference for the things that happened. "I... I..." Unbidden, tears began to fall down her face, the force of what must have gone through Kirijo's mind as he faced down the man who would harm his only family.

Would her daddy do the same?

Of course he would. Stupid question.

Akihiko put down the medical chart. "Um, Midori-san. Forgive me for prying, but..."

"Yes?" Her reply allowed her to wipe away the tears. "What is it?"

"Well, I was looking at your file to see how long you would be laid up, and there are some things there that, well, I don't know what to make of them." The information here certainly _wasn't_ in the files provided by Mitsuru. He'd have to bring up the discrepancies later.

"Oh." She knew what he was talking about. "It was a war zone by the end."

Confused, Fuuka plucked the chart up, and looked it over, finally coming to a stop at Midori's medical history. She gasped as she went down the pages and pages. "Bullet wound?"

"SDF forces who got a dose of gas through their protective gear and started seeing things." _the platoon, in the middle of the Lockdown, thinking that if they killed all the COMP users, they could survive, her and her friends their nemesis for simply trying to save everyone and not just themselves._

"Knife wounds? Stabs and slashes!"

"Yakuza thugs." _trying to kill her, calling her a witch, defending herself until she could escape. Why couldn't they see she was trying to help? Or was it she who couldn't see?_

"Insect bites and stings?"

"Ever had someone throw a wasp's nest at you?" _Belzoubulb's swarm, digging into her skin, eating __and chewing as they tried to devour her from the inside out. Amrita and magical healing took care of most of it, as well as proper medical treatment. Time would heal the rest._

"First degree burns?!"

"Running through a fire to save someone." _ducking behind some cover, the seeking flames from the demon rounding the corner to rip at her._ "You done?"

Fuuka looked at her in the silence that descended upon the room. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Midori wanted to snap at them, but kept her voice even. "I know Mitsuru-senpai knows, as does Yukari. I didn't want to... I don't like to talk about it. And I spent enough time in a hospital after the lock down, thank you very much. The worst, I can dress over, or cover with makeup. And I didn't want people to worry so much about me."

Akihiko nodded, so much making sense to him now, even though he could see that the others had all come to the wrong conclusion. Here was a girl – no, a young woman - who was willing to sacrifice much in the pursuit of her goals, something he could respect. He kept forgetting that the cheerful girl who bounced through life seeking love and justice was just a mask for the real Midori, a battle-hardened survivor whose goals in life were to simply arrange things such that the horrors she experienced would never happen again. Or was he the one drawing conclusions?

And who had thrown herself into the Dark Hour without a second thought once the stakes became clear to her. Mitsuru was right, she was damaged. But that damage made her, and her persona, powerful. They needed that power. Once the world was saved, they could save Midori. He would be certain of that.

They took their leave as evening approached. Minato promising to report her well-being to the rest of SEES. Another doctor who came in to check on her announced that she could head back to the dorm the next day, a Friday, as long as she followed a strict regimen. Akihiko could only gladly offer to make sure she stuck to it, having long practice at self-discipline.

**06 November 2009**

**Minatodai Dorm, Front Entrance**

**After School**

"I don't need this!" Midori loudly complained as the three older boys lifter her up – wheelchair, homework and all – the stairs and into the open doorway.

"Doctor's orders!" Akihiko grunted as he shifted his grip. "You stay in this until you get home."

"You know, I could have walked up the stairs! It's not like we have an internal elevator that we could cheat with." Midori continued to protest as she was manhandled further up. "And if you wanted to do this right, you should have pulled me backwards up the stairs, rather than you three trying lift and push!"

"Sorry!" Minato said as he found himself backing into the entryway. "We're clear! Just roll her in!"

"On it." Junpei found himself in the best spot, and pushed Midori's wheelchair to get her back home properly.

"SURPRISE!" The communal yell surprised Midori as she tried to climb out of her unwanted seat. She turned and saw that in the past two days, someone had printed off a "Welcome Back Midori!" banner, and hung it across the room while everyone greeted her warmly.

**Evening**

"Komaki-san?"

Midori looked up from her third slice of ice cream cake. "Yes, Aigis?"

"I wanted to apologize."

"For?"

"Harming you."

Midori set down her dessert. "Oh?"

"Yes. I... hurt you. I didn't want to do that. The commands Ikutsuki gave to me caused me to harm you."

"Aigis, sit down."

She did.

Midori leaned over and hugged the robot. "I forgive you. Ikutsuki did something bad to you, and now you're all better. Right? I'll be fine in a couple weeks."

Aigis froze at the contact, unsure of how to respond before Midori let her go. "Thank you" she finally said, and realized that she really meant it, and wasn't just saying the words.


	14. 07 Nov 2009 to 20 Nov 2009

**07 November 2009**

**Kirijo Memorial Hospital, VIP Wing**

**Afternoon**

Chewing on the corner of one of her blankets was a sign of worry that Chidori had thought she had outgrown. When Junpei had told her of the last time he had seen Jin and Takaya, she had felt nothing at the news. Like they didn't concern her any more. She had considered long and hard the unwanted advice from Mr. Komaki, and no matter how she turned it over in her head, no matter how much she tried to justify her own desires, in the end, she had to admit that he spoke from experience.

So when Junpei came by again, she bit down her desire to push him away.

But that was not what worried her right now. She was focused on the empty bed where Midori had spent a night and a day.

Contrary to popular belief, Medea was still active in her mind, though suppressed due to the drugs she had to take. And it was through this suppression that she forced herself to remember what Medea told her about the young girl.

When she had first lain eyes on her last month when Junpei sent her over as a messenger, she had seemed like a normal Persona-user and Chidori could get a feel for the force the girl and her inner self exuded. It was hot and cold and dark, and almost evil. The Persona seemed to have a life of its own, for lack of a better description. It flowed around her like a protective cover and yet stayed anchored in one spot, rooted with force that she couldn't understand.

But when they had wheeled the girl into her room that night, at first she thought a mistake had been made. Midori had no Persona. Not a single trace of it at all. At first, she had attributed it to her injuries, fearing deep in her heart where she would never admit for something she wouldn't wish on anyone – that she had lost her power.

So when Midori had awoken, Chidori kept her peace as the young girl acted like everything was alright. She doubted herself, that perhaps this was just a temporary thing, and that she would recover in time. She couldn't bring herself to destroy these few fleeting moments of happiness.

When it came time for her to leave, however, she had dressed in a new set of clothes delivered by one of her Dorm-mates who came with Junpei. And as she put on the last of her outfit, the jacket she had worn when she came to the hospital, Chidori's senses were filled with the fluid sensations of Midori's Persona again.

But that was supposed to be impossible. One cannot gain or lose a Persona like the snap of a finger! It went against everything she knew to see it happen like that. Oh, how she wanted to talk to Junpei about it right then and there, the only one who would listen to her. But how could she say the words?

Maybe she should reach out to one of the others. With the developments against STREGA, Mitsuru had offered the hand of peace between them, but so far she had not accepted it. But would any of them believe her? No, of course not. Junpei would though.

But then, that ran into the problem of actually _talking_ to Junpei, when she knew that her time was short and every moment meant more pain for the two of them.

**08 November 2009**

**Paulowina Mall, Main Concourse**

**Daytime**

Midori grumbled as she left the pharmacy, bag of materials in her hand. Being cooped up in the hospital meant that time she had planned on buying certain things had gone out the window, and so now she was catching up in addition to getting some things Akihiko had told her to get. He had said something about giving her some personal training while she recuperated, and had flatly told her what to do and not to do.

In the back of her mind, she forced herself to change Akihiko-san to Akihiko-sensei in respect for the effort he was putting into helping her get back into the game.

All that was forgotten however, when she saw Minato and Elizabeth come out of the back hall. Seeing the woman from the Velvet Room outside was something of a surprise. "HEY!" She called out, waving her free arm at the two of them.

Elizabeth saw her and after a moment's hesitation, waved back with just as much arm-waving as Midori, but to the Devil Survivor's eyes, it was without meaning, just a motion copied because she was the one doing it. The three approached each other casually at the fountain to talk without yelling at each other.

"Minato-san, Elizabeth-chan! How are you?"

"I am well." The blonde woman replied. "I am on a... date? Yes, a 'date' with him."

Minato wanted to groan and roll his eyes, but resisted the urge. "It's not actually a date, Elizabeth."

"Oh? But are we not a male and female enjoying each others company and visiting places?"

"Dates are different than that. And why are you laughing?" The last was directed at Midori. "Elizabeth doesn't 'get' humans, so I've been escorting her to various places to show her around and stuff like that. It was all her idea."

Midori stopped her giggling. "Sorry. I just never thought I'd see you outside."

Elizabeth nodded in understanding. "You may be correct. Rare is it when a denizen of the Velvet Room leaves to partake of the human realm. I have lived vicariously through Minato's actions and the esoteric things he has brought me. Every moment I spend in this realm is a moment of wonder."

"Huh. She really doesn't get out much. Where you two going?"

"To the school, actually."

"Wait, isn't it closed? It's Sunday!"

"There's a sports event going on this weekend for the Track and Field teams. The gates are unlocked and people can come in."

"Alright, but come on, she's _Elizabeth_! How are you going to explain her presence?"

"Well, it's sports right? Just play the 'she's a foreigner and I was asked to show her around by Mitsuru-senpai' card and things will work out."

Looking back and forth between the two as they quickly conversed, Elizabeth was struck by a radical and revelatory idea. "Perhaps Midori can come with us?"

The two humans looked at each other, then back to Elizabeth. "Actually, that may just work. It'll be a better sell if it's both, rather than just you." Midori agreed, shifting her shopping load. "If you'll have me of course."

Minato thought about it for a moment before agreeing, hoping that Midori could keep up with Elizabeth's antics.

Then he had a second though. What if he couldn't keep up with the two of them?

**Gekkoukan High School**

"This is my classroom." Midori announced as she slid open the front door. "I sit there" she pointed to a seat near the back of the class. Walking over, she put down the bag of stuff she had been carrying since the Mall. "Just leave this here. We'll pick it up on our way back. Uh... Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth was looking in rapture at the room. "Such order! Is this where you learn as well, Minato?"

The boy shook his head. "No, I'm in a different class, one upstairs. Classrooms like this are divided by the year of the student, and then students are sorted semi-randomly into the various classes. Midori is a First Year, Class C." He stepped out to point at the sign on the wall above the door. "I'm in the second year."

"Ah. So if she is first, and you are second, and education begins then... does that make you seven or eight years of age?"

Minato shrugged off the usual Elizabeth-ism. "No. There are also levels of schooling. Elementary, Middle, High. This is a 'High' school, and as such, we are older."

"Wheels within wheels..." The blue-clad woman pondered this. "Does this facility have facilities for training all ages, or just yours?"

"No. Just for three years encompassing the ages of 15 through 18.

Midori watched the interplay with avid interest. Seeing Elizabeth outside of the Velvet Room was, to be honest with herself, somewhat hilarious as she measured up to the most stereotypical actions of tourists, in addition to her in-human misunderstanding of everything around her. "Shall we show you to my class?"

"Yes! Please!"

Upstairs, the three entered Minato's class, and he showed them where he sat, in addition to the seats for Yukari, Junpei and Aigis. Elizabeth took the opportunity to sit in Minato's chair, and look around. "How does this work? I do not feel like I am being schooled."

Midori hopped up behind the teacher's podium, enjoying for a moment the feeling of power that had to come with the location. "That's because when a class of many people is ready, a single person called a 'Teacher' stands up here and gives lectures and lessons about stuff."

"Much as you are doing now?" Elizabeth asked, making Midori realize just what she was doing. "Are you a 'Teacher' as well?"

Midori laughed. "Oh! Me? Never! I couldn't do that. Ever."

The door to the class opened sharply, causing Midori to jump startled. Mr. Edogawa, the school nurse looked in and saw the three of them. Recognizing the older student, he addressed Minato. "And what are you two doing here with that woman?"

Minato stood and bowed, then gave the teacher the prepared excuse for their presence. Edogawa mulled it over, then seemed to accept it. "Very well. But let the President know that the faculty can arrange for proper tours." He turned to leave. "Actually, Arisato-kun, could you assist me for a few minutes? I have need of another set of hands to move some supplies out onto the field in case I need to respond there, but no one else is available. Will you?" The request wasn't.

"Can the two of you stay here? I'll be back as soon as I can." Minato hoped that Elizabeth wouldn't wander off, nor would Midori take it upon herself to continue the tour.

"Sure! We'll wait!" "Of course."

"Thank you." Minato left with Edogawa, hoping for the best.

Midori sat in the seat beside Elizabeth. A few moments silence hung between them. "So, you get out often?"

"I do not know how often is 'often'. I come into the human world as often as you go into the Velvet room, but more...?"

"More often? Makes sense. What interests you about our little corner of reality?"

"I read much about your world in books, and with the permission of my Master, I asked Minato to guide me. I have learned that I know so little. Before you came into the Velvet Room, I did not know of the proper existence of the Demon World; to me, they were simply fables drawn into power to create Personas in my Compendium."

Her mind boggled at the thought that Elizabeth knew nothing about demons, Midori then sought to put her confusion into words. "You knew... nothing? But how? Why? I mean...!"

"My Master never told me of such things, and my enquiries after your arrival led me to discover that which I had first assumed was superstition, myth, and the supernatural creations of man were more than that. He also said that he was not the best person to learn about such things from. So I have to ask of you this: tell me about Demons and Angels."

"I don't know... I mean, I know, but I know I don't know a whole lot." Midori pulled her COMP out of her coat pocket and felt its rough surfaces. "I think I can tell you a little bit, but someone like Edogawa-sensei would be better."

"I want to hear it from you. You who have encountered them yourself and forged contracts with them."

"I don't know if I'm allowed too. I mean, I made promises."

"You need not speak of details. I want to hear from you about the Demons themselves. Perhaps you can start with Jack Frost? I asked Minato for a doll of him and he provided. I think he is quite a unique specimen."

"That he is! Well, even when there's more than one of them!" Midori began to speak about her encounter with a very unique Jack Frost, answering Elizabeth's questions as they expanded out into her encounters with them and how she grew to accept them as people, rather than as Monsters.

"But what about your personal creed? How can you account for the change of the Jack Frost you befriended into the Black Frost you now claim as your own?"

Midori thought hard about this. "As near as I can tell, it's a matter of ethics. Now, I didn't learn much about it directly, but I did learn a bit from hearing others talk and from some conversations afterwards.

"You see, Demons tend to believe in what we would call 'chaos'; that being an existence without firm order, and only those with the power to do or take what they can can have those things. The King of Bel being one of the stronger ones. Angels believe in 'order'; that being everything in its place with everything being governed by rigid laws. When the Bels came to Earth, the Angels created the Lockdown to try and force 'Law' onto humanity in the face of the 'Chaos' of the Demons.

"But humanity is different. We are not creatures of 'Law' or of 'Chaos'. Even though in a school like this, in a culture like mine, total rigidity is impossible. Exceptions exist, leeway occurs. Humans are creatures of... freedom. We are capable of choice. To follow the dictates of Law, or of Chaos, or of neither.

"I am a person of Love and Justice. I taught this to that Jack Frost and he changed his nature. He changed of his own free will, becoming something more and greater. That's why a human now sits on the Throne of Bel – we can change. For the better, for the worse, it doesn't matter. What matters was the change was done."

Elizabeth replied seriously. "So your stance is that power comes the capacity to take ones fate into ones own hands, to act in the neutral balance between the rigid demands of law and the unpredictable measures of personal disorder?"

"Maybe. I'm just a Magical Girl of Love and Justice. I try not to think too hard about this sort of thing."

"You will have to explain what that means to me as well."

"Another day."

They sat in silence for a while, waiting for Minato. When he finally returned, he apologized. "Sorry. Sensei had a lot of stuff to help with. Then I got sidetracked by some people I know. Did you two keep out of trouble?"

Midori nodded. "Yep! We talked about girl stuff! Elizabeth seriously needs to get out more often."

[b]The Velvet Room[/b]

Having returned to Paulowina Mall, Elizabeth and Minato entered the Velvet Room while Midori waited outside. "Thank you again for showing me your world. I was quite enlightened, and thought I would like to share some of my results with you."

"Oh?" Minato responded, pleased that Elizabeth enjoyed her time in the real world.

"Yes. At first I thought that by asking you to take me outside, I was connecting to you and your amazing existence." She paused. "I was wrong. Not only am I learning and connecting to you but through you I am learning about and connecting to other people. Is this the measure of your Social Links – the actions that give you power? To reach out not only to those around you but to reach into their own links, and the links of their links?"

"Probably." Minato replied without much thought. "I gain power for my Personas not only through being friends with individuals, but also by being part of the group. My links are unique to me, but if everyone built up their own capacity for such things... I don't know what would happen."

Elizabeth gave a faint smile. "Then perhaps we both have things to think about. Until we meet again."

**Paulowina Mall, Main Concourse**

"How was Igor?" Midori picked up her bag as Minato came back into the human realm.

"Not bad. I think he enjoys Elizabeth's walks as a much as she does." The two of them started to head back to the Dorm. "You sure Akihiko won't mind you taking so late?"

"Nah, I'll just tell him I helped you with something. He'll understand."

**09 November 2009**

**Kirijo Memorial Hospital, VIP Wing**

**After School**

Junpei knocked, then entered when Chidori gave her permission. She wasn't on the bed, but rather standing beside the window, surrounded by a warm glow of sunlight that caused his breath to catch. Setting down his school bag, he asked "How are you feeling?"

"I am well, thank you for asking. How is Midori-chan?" Having all weekend to think about how to approach the questions she wanted answered, it seemed that the best approach was to affect the role of the 'concerned roommate'.

"Oh, Midori?" Junpei didn't expect to be used as a means to checkup on the younger girl, but just shrugged it off. "She's doing all right. Not taking the recovery easy, I can tell you. Poor Akihiko-senpai has his hands full just keeping her from doing something to aggravate her injuries."

Unbidden a small smile almost crept onto her face. She could almost see that. Her encounters with the bluenette definitely showed an over abundance of energy. Being told to take it easy would be against her nature. "I ask because I was concerned about her power."

Junpei leaned back against the wall beside her. "You mean the head injury? Yea, I can see that. It was pretty much the first thing the Senpai's did when she got back was to check it out. Frosty looks good according to Aigis and the equipment we have. Or at least as normal as he usually is. But I'll let her know you were concerned."

"No, it's not about that, Junpei..." Chidori tried to get the conversation back on track, but found she couldn't while under Junpei's eager gaze. So she shied away from the questions she wanted to ask, and instead went with the one easier to ask. "How was your day?"

**Minatodai Dormitory, 1****st**** Floor Lounge**

**Evening**

Junpei, sitting beside Akihiko, waved Minato over as he came in for the evening. "Hey man, grab a seat. We got some good news and some weird news."

Minato did so, noting that no one else was downstairs at all. "What's up?"

Akihiko took the lead in answering. "First of all, I got a message from Mitsuru. Seems she's done down at Yakushima, and will be coming back tomorrow. I don't know if you want to go back into Tartarus, but it may give her a good excuse to divert her attention to something else."

Accepting the suggestion, Minato turned to Junpei. "Anything else? You mentioned weird news. Is it about Chidori?"

"No. Well, it's about her. Midori I mean. You see, Chidori is kinda worried about her Persona. Seems like while she was sleeping, Chidori couldn't sense Midori's persona, and thought it may have been lost, or damaged. But then as she was leaving the hospital, apparently her Persona came back at full force."

Minato looked at Akihiko, the questions evident in his eyes. "I don't know," he said, shaking his head ruefully. "Head injuries are hard enough to predict the outcome in normal people." He took a deep breath. "But she's under doctor's orders to have little physical activity for at least a week, so I would keep her out of fighting in Tartarus for at least ten days. We can give her a practice run in a week on one of the lower floors to see how she's doing, and make a more accurate judgement then. And it will give me time to develop a training system to build up her endurance."

Minato nodded, though he felt like he was missing something from the conversation that he should have picked up.

**10 November 2009**

**Gekkoukan High, Rooftop**

**Lunch**

Midori didn't come up here often, preferring to lunch with her friends in the classroom, and Aigis didn't eat at all. But the two of them were up here so Midori could enjoy the fresh air and the two could enjoy each others company. Then the new boy in the school showed up, Ryoji. And things went down hill very fast.

He immediately turned on the charm and Midori reflexively tuned him out. Although she did pay enough attention to him to determine when to make some noise. Midori could see, once she was done with her lunch, how he had managed to blow past pretty much everyone in the 'hotness' quotient to come up near Akihiko – that scarf was amazing!

Although when Aigis had enough and she froze up like a predator ready to pounce, Midori reached into her experience with dealing with fans who annoyed her and adjusted her body language to say "we're out of your league, so don't even try".

And yet he persisted! So Midori had to play dirty. "Aigis? I'm feeling a headache coming on." She faked a wince, and held her head away from where the bandages used to be. "Could you help out?"

Nodding, Aigis knew that the best thing Midori needed was quiet and water according to Akihiko. And with Ryoji being by far the loudest thing on the roof, she forced him back into the school through inexorable robot strength. And some part of her appreciate the excuse to man-handle the young man.

After getting a bottle of water, she returned to the roof and offered it to Midori. "He's dangerous."

"Well, I get that. Guys like that, they don't know when to stop. One of these days, he'll do his thing to a woman who will respond by kicking him in the balls." Midori completely missed what Aigis meant by 'dangerous'.

"That was a viable response? I was under the impression that violence was forbidden on school property."

"Oh, it is. But there are plenty of places not on school property."

"I see. I will file that away for future reference."

Something clicked in Midori's memory, from the days previous. "He hit on you in class, didn't he?"

"I believe that is the correct term, yes."

"Oh." Midori could only look on in personal horror as the sheer gall displayed by the newest student would only lead to tragedy. Comedy, certainly. But mostly tragedy.

**Minatodai Dorm, 3****rd**** Floor, Mitsuru's Room**

**Evening**

Midori knocked, but no answer came. She wasn't opening the door for anyone, and Midori doubted that anyone was actually willing to kick down the door to talk to her. They all wanted to give her some space, that much was obvious, but she couldn't do that to Mitsuru.

"Open up, Senpai!" Midori banged on the door again. "You can't hide!"

She saw someone come up the stairs out of the corner of her eye, but ignored them. Instead, she waited for Mitsuru to give some sign of life.

The Dark Hour came and went before Midori ceased her vigil and crossed the hall to her own room.

**14 November 2009**

**Tartarus, Lobby**

**The Dark Hour**

"I do _not_ appreciate being the Club Manager now." Midori grumbled as Minato led people higher into the tower, a new Block having appeared. On Minato's orders she had left her Evoker at home, though she still had Frosty on her, in case of emergencies.

At first, people had tried to keep her away from Tartarus in the first place, to let her go home and sleep, but she pointed out that the walk from the Dorm to Tartarus was a good one, and even if she wasn't going to go fighting, the exercise would be good for her.

That, and they really couldn't stop her unless they locked her in her room.

So she sat on the stairs, playing with her COMP, and occasionally breaking out a deck of cards to play a couple rounds of go-fish with Ken or whoever else wanted to join in.

"It's too bad first years can't go on the School Trip." Fuuka spoke during one of the lulls in battle.

"Don't remind me. Kyoto! I wanted to go there!" Midori griped as Ken won. Again. She looked behind her to make sure that Koro wasn't spying on her hand, but she just readied the cards for another game.

"I tried to talk Mitsuru-senpai into making an exception for you, but she... well..." Fuuka tried to apologize for her failure.

"Don't worry. She's had a lot on her mind, and if she did me a favour like that, it could compromise her own positional integrity. Besides, someone has to keep an eye on Ken and Koro-chan. Who knows what they'll do with the Dorm to themselves for so long?" She smiled, eyes gleaming at Ken, who only shook his head.

"Akihiko-san has already given me a list of things to make sure you get done, Midori-chan." He asked for a Queen, which Midori dutifully handed over. "You're supposed to take your medication, do the exercises he's got planned, clean your room and stuff like that."

"KEN! How could you! After all the Featherman R stuff I've shared with you, you repay me like this?" Midori shot back as she failed to take a Three from him.

"It could have been worse, Mitsuru wanted to leave Koro-chan in charge."

The two youngest humans in SEES turned to look at the dog, who only tilted his head to one side, pretending to be innocent of all things.

"You realize that we're going to have to walk him every night, right? And he'll do that thing with his eyes to make us do his bidding."

Ken nodded. "That's your job. Long strolls are part of Akihiko's instructions."

Midori fake-wept at the injustice of it all. Ah well, there was always next year.

**20 November 2009**

**Minatodai Dorm, 1st Floor Lounge**

**Evening**

Midori held the door open as the older girls came back. The Kyoto trip did them good, and she could see that they were all refreshed, especially Mitsuru who actually smiled at her! Midori of course, welcomed everyone back, but once Minato, Akihiko and Junpei reached the steps, the ice in Mitsuru's voice came back with a vengeance.

"Be very glad that Midori didn't come with us" she said from her imperious place at the door. "I would have had to been stricter with you, given the age differences involved."

Confused, Midori asked what had happened, and Fuuka responded with three phrases. "Hot Springs. 'Accident'. Execution."

A moment to understand what just happened, then Midori slammed the door in the boys face. "STAY OUTSIDE LIKE THE DOGS YOU ARE!"


	15. 21 Nov 2009 to 22 Nov 2009

**21 Novemebr 2009**

**Minatodai Dormitory, 3rd Floor Lounge**

**Evening**

"I am worried that I may overheat." Aigis said solemnly to Koromaru, who in turn whine a reply to the robot. "No, I do not see how talking to the other females can help. They do not have to worry about the same mechanical issues."

"WOOF!"

"Why do you believe that my current predicament is related to my observations of Minato-san?"

Watching from the stairwell, Midori tried to piece together the one-sided conversation. She knew that somehow Aigis could talk to the dog, but this one was just so completely outlandish – even accounting for the participants. Stepping out onto the landing, she made her presence more properly known. "What's this about Ryoji-san and Minato-san?" Her tone of voice indicated that she only added the -san to Ryoji's name out of habit than anything else.

Aigis seemed startled, as though she was so absorbed in talking to Koromaru that she wasn't aware of Midori, despite her lack of stealth. "Oh. I was talking with Koro-chan about some of the physical effects that the presence of Ryoji-san have upon me. I notice that I am assessing him as a higher-class threat than any of the other classmates, and my internal systems spike whenever he approaches or communicates with myself or Minato." She began to speak in more technical terms that cased Midori to slightly zone out, or to look to the dog for guidance. It never came as Koromaru apparently had the same problem.

Midori finally picked enough contextual clues out of what was being said to make a good guess as to what was bothering Aigis. "Congratulations! You have now developed a sense of intuition. I won't call it 'Woman's Intuition' yet, but it's still there. Ryoji's a _creep_, no two ways about that , and all things considered, if you think he's dangerous... well then, he probably is." She paused, thinking back over things. "Wait. Didn't we already have this conversation?"

"We did," Aigis confirmed. "You recommended physical violence. Are you maintaining that recommendation?"

Thinking this over, Midori realized that Aigis was asking for help in dealing with a boy who may or may not be someone that Aigis shouldn't be associating with. Koromaru was right, girl-talk was far more likely to help than anything else. "Only if he touches you first. And try not to break his arms. So why were you asking Koro-chan for advice?"

"Because he was available." The reply was simple and factual.

"And I wasn't?"

"You were with Akihiko-san, doing exercises. I was not to disturb you."

"... You do realize that interrupting those would have been in my favour, correct?"

"Akihiko-san mentioned you would have that opinion, and reinforced his position with medical evidence of the benefits of the routines he has set up for you. Therefore, I will not interfere with those actions." It seemed that Aigis was taking pleasure in helping their senpai with his imposing of order on Midori's behalf. It almost irked Midori until she accepted that Aigis probably didn't know any better.

Narrowing her eyes, Midori laid hands on Aigis' shoulders. "That's far to many words to say 'You brought this on yourself'."

"You brought this on yourself?" Aigis repeated causing Midori to throw up her hands in surrender.

"Fine! I'm off to bed!" Watching her leave for the end of the hallway, Aigis turned back to Koromaru.

"Was it something I said?"

**Late Night**

Midori awoke to a pounding on her door. A glance at the clock through showed that it was still before midnight, and she knew that Minato wasn't planning on visiting Tartarus the day after their school trip. "I'm UP!" She yelled, looking for her glasses. Finding them, she opened her door to find Junpei bouncing in tension there.

"Get upstairs! Chidori's missing!"

**Control Room, 4****th**** Floor**

Mitsuru glared at Junpei as the last person stumbled into the room. Midori hadn't changed out of her pyjamas, and she felt it would be better if she was back in bed. "Anyways, we received word from the hospital that there was a break-in, and several injuries – but no fatalities. Chidori was determined to be missing after a roll call of patients. The hospital contacted Officer Kurosawa and he contacted us."

"So they finally rescued her, huh?" Akihiko pondered this as Junpei paced behind him.

"She didn't go with them, they kidnapped her!" the young man could barely keep his emotions in check. He wanted so badly to go out and find her, but he didn't know where to start. A hand was pressed to his arm, and he spun around to see Midori smiling.

"Don't worry about her." She yawned. "Fuuka'll find her and you'll rescue her and I'll go back to sleep and everyone will be happy. So calm down."

"I can't!"

"Yes." Another yawn. "You can. Trust me. Trust us."

Fuuka looked at the clock. "It's almost time."

As the Dark Hour came over the world, Fuuka summoned forth Juno and began to look for STREGA.

**22 November 2009**

**Minatodai Dorm, 3rd Floor Sitting Area**

**Daytime**

"You sure slept in late." Yukari greeted Midori as she stumbled out into the hallway.

"Blame Junpei. He knows I'm still benched." She clearly hadn't recovered well from her midnight vigil, and was looking to take it out on someone worthwhile.

"I already have. And Mitsuru did as well. Gave him a thorough dressing down this morning." Yukari grinned at the memory. "Oh, let's keep it quiet. Fuuka's still asleep." Standing and brushing off her skirt, Yukari looked Midori up and down. "You look like you could use a good long bath. I'm meeting up with Minato at Paulowina mall later. You want me to pick something up from the pharmacy for you?"

"No, thank you." Midoro shook her head. "Akihiko-sensei has been very particular about things and making sure I'm doing the right things." She sighed in disgust. "Honestly, he almost as bad as Mitsuru-senpai in that regard, but he does have some charm to go with it." Deciding a change of topic was in order, she jumped on the other thread of the conversation. "So, you kissed Minato

Yukari stumbled, her face turning as pink as her sweater. "W... w... wh... what?!"

Midori saw an opening and exploited it for all it was worth. "Have you kissed Minato yet? I mean, the only one who doesn't see it is Mitsuru-senpai. And Junpei was asking Minato for advice where Chidori was concerned." Midori stopped when she realized that Yukari was starting to stare at her. That was the same stare that Yuzu used when she got to close to _him_, during that week.

It was the stare that said 'say one more word, and I'll gut you. Now lay off'.

Valuing her life, Midori beat a hasty path downstairs to get some food and watch some Featherman R with Ken.

But Yukari stayed. She thought over what Midori had said. Sure, she and Minato were getting closer, but that doesn't mean she had to throw it in her face like that.

Pulling her knees to her chest, Yukari remembered that night on the island, when he came down to talk to her on the beach. That evening after seeing the doctored footage of her father's last message. He was so kind and understanding, and there was something there that they had shared. A sense of loss?

Why was it that her heart ached every time she saw him?

**Paulowina Mall**

The two of them pulled each other close, lover and fool.

**Minatodai Dormitory, 4****th**** Floor Control Room**

**The Dark Hour**

"I found them!" Fuuka cried triumphantly as the rest of SEES moved to attention around her. "Wait... why are they at the entrance to Tartarus?" She looked at the others through Juno's eyes. "I don't understand."

"What would they want there?" Minato asked the question that Fuuka couldn't. He also wasn't sure he wanted an answer.

"There's only one way to find..." Mitsuru was halted mid-sentence as Fuuka shrieked, clutching her head in agony. "Yamagishi! What's wrong?"

They were all surprised when it was Chidori's voice that echoed from the chamber that protected and amplified Fuuka. "Long time, no see. For most of you, at least."

"Chidori!" Junpei yelled as he brushed past Akihiko to get to Juno, hoping that the presence of his Persona would allow Chidori to recognize him. "Where are you? Why are you doing this?"

"I... I can't stand the sight of you, any of you anymore! Come to me! I'll do something about it!" Chidori's voice vanished as soon as it had come, leaving Fuuka on the floor, gasping for breath. Junpei helped her up.

"Did she say anything to you?" The demand was panicked and it showed how badly Junpei was taking this turn of events.

"Junpei!" Yukari tried to reign in her classmate. "Let her go! What do you think she's doing?"

"... hell should I know?" Junpei backed off from Fuuka then broke for the door, forcing his way past an unresisting Akihiko and Midori with a barely audible "sorry".

Mitsuru made sure her Evoker was secured in her holster. "We go after him. This is obviously a trap, but we have to spring it if we are to gain insight into our situation with The Fall. Now after Iori!"

They ran.

**Outside Tartarus**

Junpei skidded to a halt. There she was, beautiful and alone. "Chidori! What's going on? Where's those bastards that took you?"

She folded her hands in front of her, refusing to answer.

"This doesn't make any sense!" He took a step closer. "I... I know I'm not all that smart. I don't see what others do." Another step. He knew that if he could reach out and touch her, everything would be alright. He tried to ignore the imposing mass of Tartarus behind her, trying not to think about what Jin and Takaya were doing in there. "We don't need to fight. We can talk!" Another step and he reached out his hand. All she had to do was reach out as well...

"JUNPEI! LOOK OUT!"

He reacted, twsited and sliding to the side as Chidori threw her hatchet where he stood a moment before. "Chidori!" He tried to grab the chain attached to the weapon on impulse, but missed. "Why?"

The rest of SEES finally caught up to them. "Junpei! Back! She's not going to talk." Akihiko said as he grabbed Junpei by the arm and yanked him away from Chidori and into Midori. True to his word, the white-clad woman recovered her weapon and hung her head, still silent.

The battle that followed was short. Minato led Yukari, Mitsuru and Akihiko in beating down the enemy Persona user while Midori found herself hard pressed to keep Junpei from jumping in and trying to stop the fight. She understood that sometimes violence was the only way to solve anything.

But Chidori wasn't used to fighting, and her long convalescence in the hospital had taken their toll on her strength. Soon she was relieved of her weapon and exhausted allowing Midori to let Junpei go to her side.

He dropped to her knees beside her and reached out to take her hand. But she reacted like head bitten her instead. "DON'T TOUCH ME!"

"Chidori? Why? I can protect you from whatever it is you're afraid of." Everyone watched in silence at Junpei tried to talk his friend down.

She screamed back at him, bottled emotions coming to the fore. "NO! You CAN'T!" She sobbed. "You don't understand... I don't fear it. I don't fear death. I fear..." Chidori looked him in the face. "What I fear is... you."

Junpei looked like she had just slapped him. "What?"

"You... I fear... being attached to you... Once I gain something, I always feel like I will lose it. That's why I only lived for the moment. You brought me pain. Every time I saw you, you were nothing but pain in my heart."

"Huh?" Junpei had no clue how to respond to this, and so he did the only thing he could. He got closer to her to try and share in her pain.

"I never asked for this... Whenever I saw you, I feared not you, I fear your loss, your death... I fear that my time with you would end."

They saw them emerge from Tartarus, Jin and Takaya. Junpei moved to cover Chidori, while Akihiko broke ranks to advance on them. "You sons of bitches! You won't escape this time!"

Takaya ignored the outburst to sigh. "Oh, Chidori. How you've been poisoned by them."

Junpei snarled right back. "What the hell does that mean, you pale freak?"

"A freak? Oh, how right you are, yet how wrong. Are we not special? Chosen even? Yes... we are the chosen of this world." Takaya ignored the insult as he lectured Junpei.

"Whatever." Junpei reached back to put a hand on Chidori's shoulder. "I won't let you hurt her. Nothing matters as much as that."

Takaya laughed, raised his gun, and shot Junpei down.


	16. 22 Nov 2009 to 23 Nov 2009

**22 November 2009**

**Outside Tartarus**

**The Dark Hour**

The silence in the wake of the singular gunshot was deafening. The followup was even louder. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" "Junpei!" "Iori!"

The world blurred together for Midori as her blood pounded far too loudly in her ears. Watching iin slow motion as Junpei fell over, her feet froze to the ground. _not again_ She wanted her feet to move so she could rush to his aid, but where Junpei hit the ground she could only see Shinji... she could only see Keisuke... she could only see...

It didn't matter.

Chidori responded with a far more quiet "Junpei?" She reached out to touch his face. "Junpei?" A touch and she could feel through Medea his heat and his life leaving him. She could not see his eyes and wanted to see more. She pulled him up and cradled him against her bosom, closed her eyes and invoked Medea.

For a moment, all was still. Even Takaya seemed perplexed by what was going on. A shimmering light grew from the Pesona, Medea rising above the two on the ground, then draping itself over them.

An eternity rested in that moment as Midori found that her legs had failed her, and that she was now on her knees. Akihiko was leaning forward to reach Junpei. Minato had his Evoker in his hand, moving towards his head. Yukari had dropped her bow. Mitsuru was drawing her sword. Aigis stood unmoving, as though she wasn't sure what to do, or was simply waiting for the right moment.

Then Junpei moved. One hand reached up and caressed Chidori's cheek. "No. Don't." He said this as she leaned down over him, her tears falling onto his face. They shared a private moment, a private word, a private world. Then he pulled her close and kissed her on the lips.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." Chidori started to break down in tears as Junpei relaxed for the final time, then in a heartbeat he was gone. Blinking to clear away the cloudy vision, she stared unseeing at the place he used to be. The only remains were the blood on her otherwise pristine white dress and his hat, which lay on the ground as though tossed there.

Takaya sighed in an exaggerated manned. "Oh, what a waste. You've been poisoned to the core." He raised his gun one more time.

"..." Chidori whispered something under her breath, an oath made to the unknown.

"Oh? Last words, traitor?" The hammer cocked. Jin readied a grenade, STREGA now down to two.

"**HELIOS**" Her Evoker was in her hand, and two guns fired as one.

It was no longer Medea that came, but something new. A red-cloaked humanoid figure, the body covered in bands of metal armour, feathery wings girded in metal. It was thin, lanky, seemingly far less substantial than it should have been. Yet the eyes glowed with a ferocity unmatched, and back-lighting its head - a crown of liquid sun fire.

Helios raised his hand, and Takaya's bullet bounced off the defence of Tetrakarn. Seeking its origin, Takaya took the bullet and fell back against the walls of the tower of Tartarus.

Then Helios was gone, and time moved again.

SEES ran forward, Midori angling for Chidori, all thoughts of battle gone from her mind. There was something more important to find out. "Where's Junpei? What did you do to him?!"

**Minatodai Dormitory, 1****st**** Floor Lounge**

Numb, they entered into their home. The quiet was only marred by the unprocessed grief shared by all. Mitsuru picked up the phone, only to realize halfway through dialling that there was no Chairman to call upon, no Father to guide her hand. There was no one above her to deal with this. She had to take responsibility. She had to do something...

All she wanted to do was cry. Fuuka and Yukari did so openly. Ken joined them, eyes red but unyielding to the internal emotions.

Koromaru licked Mitsuru's fingertips, trying to get them to move, but all she could do was stare at the phone.

Aigis was impassive. She had nothing to do, except to perform post-dark hour repairs which were negligible. But aside from that, she was evaluating the possible actions of Strega. They had escaped retribution, Jin utilizing an SDF smoke grenade to cover their retreat back into Tartarus.

Given the temporal dilation effects observed in the Dark Hour, there had been hope to pursue them after recovering for a day. But she calculated that recovery would take a lot longer.

Aigis didn't know what to do, and this lack gnawed at her.

Akihiko walked in, then straight up to his room. Some things men had to do alone.

Lastly, Midori and Minato entered. Between them, arms slung over their shoulders was Chidori. While she was asleep, she hadn't stopped crying, and they just couldn't leave her there when the Dark Hour ended.

"I'll take her up to my room." Midori said quietly. Of all of SEES, she showed her pain the least, it becoming an old friend by now. "Least chance of any accidents."

Minato sent her an angry glare that told her he did not take well her insult against their team mates. She replied with an impassive gesture at those still around. The indication was that she was the only one in any condition to watch over Chidori until they could figure out what to do with her and it was Minato's duty as leader to try and help.

He let her go.

**3****rd**** Floor, Midori's Room**

The Dark Hour ended, the worlds green hues fading away to the normal darkness of after-midnight. Midori turned on the table lamp and cleared a patch off her desk, shuffling homework and costume sketches to one side. Sitting down, she forced herself into thinking hard about had happened.

Love and Justice.

What had happened tonight. Why had she frozen? It didn't make any sense. What voice inside her head had told her to "Stay" and why did she obey?"

She looked back at Chidori, now sleeping on her bed. It had been simple enough to get her out of the bloody Gothic clothes and into one of her spare sets of pyjamas – the ones with the Jack Frost print on them.

This isn't what she wanted to believe. Sure, their would be hardships on the road to victory for her and her beliefs, that there was the possibility of pain and loss. But nothing like this. She thought she understood, thought she had a grip on these things. But she didn't. Nothing was the way it was supposed to be.

Demons and Angels and Personas and The Dark Hour and Babel and Tartarus. Every time she turned around, there was another new threat to humanity just waiting around the corner to be unleashed by the greed of man, or some 'higher' force that was just trying to put them down! "It just isn't fair!" She banged her head against the table hard enough to shake it, spiking a shot of pain through her.

"No, it's not."

Midori spun around to see Chidori was now lying awake. She hadn't lost track of time, had she? Searching for something to say, the most banal words came out of her mouth. "Welcome to my room!" She bowed politely from her seat.

"Where's Junpei?" Chidori spoke with soft worry. Midori could hear the long-forgotten innocence come to the fore in her voice "Where is he?"

Midori put on her best face. "He's gone. Vanished into the Dark Hour." She looked down into her lap. "All we have is his hat."

"NO! He can't be!" Chidori curled up onto a ball, back turned towards her host. "I can still sense him!" Midori had to resist the urge to crawl into her bed to comfort the red-haired woman. She had to settle for reaching out and touching her shoulder. Chodori shuddered at the human touch, but relaxed slightly when Midori made no further move. "I... I remember..."

"Remember what?"

**A Place Between Life and Death**

Junpei woke with a start, throwing the covers off him as he lurched into an upright position. He looked around. A hospital! He was in a hospital! That meant he was alive!

"Junpei?"

Called, he snapped his head around to see Chidori sitting there, a slight smile on her face. "I'm so happy you're awake."

"Ch.. Chidori! What happened? Is everyone alright? Are you alright?" Junpei tried to move to hold her, but he couldn't from where he lay. Wait. Wasn't he sitting up? Why was he in his own clothes, and not a hospital gown?

"I was... I was... I was wrong, Junpei!" Chidori leaned over the bed to take his hand in hers, the touch sending waves of warmth into her body. "I was scared, and I blamed you for the pain. I never felt this way before, not before I met you! You, you... you are the one who showed me what I wanted!"

"And what is that?" Junpei asked, glad that she was alright, that she was getting better.

"I want to be with you, Junpei."

Oh, those words. There was only one thing to say. "And I, you."

Chidori smiled and Junpei's entire world lit up like the rising of the morning sun. "But, it couldn't be. I'm different."

"So? I don't care."

"Since the moment I gained my power, I knew the day my life would end." Her confession crashed into Junpei's heart, a blow to pierce through all defences.

"WHAT?"

"I've always known, Junpei. And that scared me. I never thought about my death, it was just something that was going to come, the end of my days. Then I met you."

"Chidori!" Junpei tried to find the words to make her feel better, but nothing came.

"That's why I have to do this. I can't let you die here."

"Chidori!" He grasped her hand hard, causing her to wince in pain. "Don't do this! Have mine!"

"What? What are you saying?"

"I'm a dead man! You say you're out of days, well I say shit to that! You can have all of mine! Forever! If I'm going to go down, then I'll be damned if I drag you with me!"

"Junpei! No! You have friends!"

"And you don't! You never had the chance, never had the life that I had, and it's about time you started living for yourself. Not for me, not for STREGA, not for this death you think is coming, not for anyone else but yourself!" Junpei pulled her close.

"I have to save you!" She whispered in his ear.

"No. Don't." He said quietly back to her, closing his eyes and thinking some something that he could do. "I love you, and it would be my honour, and my pleasure to guard you for the rest of your days. May you live forever."

Junpei kissed her in the dream and in the reality, and in that act, gave her Hermes.

Power rocked her world, a new fire that tore through her, scouring her and Medea to the core. Where once was weakness, now lay strength. An armour settled over her, and she could feel him fade away in her arms.

"I love you too, Junpei Iori."

**23 November 2009**

**Gekkoukan High, 3rd Floor Hallway**

**Lunch**

"Did you hear what happened to the President?"

"I know! Food poisoning for the entire Dorm! Man, I'd hate to be the guy who served President Kirijo bad food." A shudder passed through the gossiping students, each dreaming up dreaded punishments for the person who would do such a thing.

**Minatodai Dormitory, 4****th**** Floor Control Room**

**Afternoon**

Mitsuru wasn't eager to have this meeting. But it was still needed. Her excuse to the school for everyone's absence wouldn't hold for another day, and things needed to be done. Everyone left was here, except Koromaru, who was sitting in Chidori's lap as she awaited her fate in the sitting area on the floor below. If she tried anything, he would stop her, or at least raise the alarm for everyone else to come to help.

She looked around the table and could feel the hollowness in almost everyone echoed in her. "Iori..." She tried to find the words, but even Shinji's death didn't affect her as much as this. Why was that?

Minato stood, taking the burden of speaking off her hands. "Junpei... he was the first friend I made when I moved into the Dorm. He was loud, rambunctious, stupid, but most of all loyal. When he found out about the Dark Hour and SEES, he joined to do better for the world, and he did."

"We can't bury him because there's no body. But we can remember him. I don't know how we'll explain his absence, but we will have to find a way. Find a way to move forward. A way to move on without him. He fell doing what he did best, and it behoves us to do the same." He sat back down, no more words to be said.

In the awkward silence, Mitsuru moved towards a more progressive line of discussion. "Komaki, please report on what you told me earlier."

Dutifully, she stood and relayed Chidori's account of how she tried to save Junpei by pouring her life into his, and how he rejected that, giving what was his to her. "I don't know if it was a dream, or the truth," Midori took a breath to plan her next words, "but it fits Junpei to do something that stupid."

Yukari slapped the table angrily. "She should have tried harder to save him! He should be here! Not her!"

"Yukari!" Akihiko snapped the name out to reign her in a hair ahead of Mitsuru. Fuuka flinched at the force of the command, even though she wasn't the target.

"He chose it." Ken said, clearly not eager to remember loosing another friend so soon. "We have to respect that."

"I agree." Akihiko shared the same pain, only deeper.

"I wish to report on Chidori-san's Persona." Aigis took her turn to stand. "Of her previous Persona, Medea, there is no trace. Analysis of her new Persona – Helios – indicates that it is an Agi focused existence with strong magic and endurance with mediocre physical prowess. It has no elemental weaknesses, but it does possess complete immunity to both Agi and Hama skills. Most importantly is that Helios is a stable Persona. I do not predict any issues with previous instability." She looked confused for a moment. "When I first analyzed it, it looked like the child of Medea and Hermes."

Midori made the obvious logical connection. "So he fused his Persona to hers? Wow."

Everyone looked at Midori. "What are you talking about?" Fuuka asked politely in the place of everyone else.

"What?" Midori was confused.

"Persona Fusion. What is that?"

"Uh... It's what happens when two..." She was about to launch into the 'Birds and the Bees' speech when the reality of the question hit her. She had just messed up badly and was about to pay the price. "Oh."

"Fusion is the material synthesis of two or more Personas into a – usually – more powerful Persona." Minato explained, adding in a very annoyed glare at Midori. "It's one of the things I use."

"You can _do that_?" Fuuka exclaimed as the possibilities ran through her head.

But Minato ignored her, focusing instead on Midori. How had she known about Fusion? She _had_ met with Igor, but she wasn't a Wild Card, so maybe...? He would have to ask her later, in private.

**3****rd**** Floor, Sitting Area**

Absently stroking the dog's fur, Chidori looked up when they came down from their closed door meeting. Some marched past her, down towards the lower floors, others turned to head towards their private rooms. Except Midori, who walked over to one of the vending machines. "What do you want?" she asked as she got ready to drop a coin into the machine.

"Ceilo, please."

Two thunks later and the younger girl held out Chidori's request. "Here you go." She took a seat and opened her own can. "So... I've got good news and bad news."

Expecting this, Chidori focused on the calming aspects of petting the dog. "Bad news please."

"You're going to be moved from the hospital to a more secure facility. Aigis has determined that Helios is not a threat to yourself or anyone else, so round-the-clock observation isn't required any more. Your stuff is being gathered up and packed to shipped to your new home as we speak."

Chidori waited for the rest of the bad news but it didn't come. "So, what's the Good News?"

Midori's face exploded into happiness. "You're moving in here!"

**1****st**** Floor, Dining Room**

"Senpai, why did you vote for _her_ to move in with us?"

Akihiko put down his water to look at the fuming Yukari. "Because it was the right thing to do."

"Now, if Midori had said that, I wouldn't have had a problem. She voted for it so quickly, I'd swear it was her idea in the first place. And she's crazy enough to think that having _her_ move in is a good thing. Now give me the real answer."

Akihiko went over the tallies in his head. Minato, Midori, Aigis and himself were the Ayes. Fuuka, Ken, Yukari and Mitsuru voted against letting the ex-STREGA member into the Drom. That his was the tie vote, and that meant that Minato's vote was the only one that counted. The fact that he was the one who made it seemed to be enough to prevent Mitsuru from simply ordering things to go her way.

As he pondered why he had joined in that decision, he realized the source of his troubles, and it's solution came from the same person.

"It's because of Love."

"What?!" Yukari couldn't believe what was being told of her. "Love? What's gotten into you, senpai?"

"Because Love without Justice is Sacrifice." He repeated what Midori had told him two months ago when he wept at Shinji's memorial. "Was there justice in Junpei dying, and Chidori living? No. None at all. We don't get to pick and choose the time of our demise, but if Junpei was willing to lay down his life out of love for her, to give her a second chance at a life she never had, who am I...? Who are [i]we[/i] to reject that? She comes here, because that's what he would have wanted from us. The chance to be the first real friends she's ever had. To make up for all our mistakes."

Yukari pulled herself up with a puff. "Gods! We must all be sick! When the words of the Love and Justice freak make the most sense out of anything I've heard. Fine. We'll give her a try. She does _anything _stupid, I'll kick her out myself."

"Deal."


	17. 24 Nov 2009 to 26 Nov 2009

**24 November 2009**

**Minatodai Dorm, 1st Floor Lounge**

**Evening**

The doorbell rang once and Minato went to answer it. It wasn't his weekly delivery from Tanaka, he was sure. Looking back, he checked to make sure the area was clear; Aigis vanished up the stairs. If necessary, she would change into her 'public' clothes and then come back down.

Opening the door, he found himself face-to-face-to-scarf with Ryoji Mochizuki. A smile was on his face, like he didn't have a care in the world. "Hello! Is Junpei feeling better? He and I were supposed to meet up and go to the Mandagora tonight."

Not knowing how to properly respond to that, Minato simply invited the newest transfer student in and offered him a seat.

"Is that my stuff?" Chidori asked in her dry voice as she descended from above. With her new accommodations set, there were arrangements and arguments to be had. The first thought was to put her in Shinjiro's old room, but Mitsuru had put her foot down on that. The Dorm was divided with the boys on the second floor and girls on the third. She wasn't about to bend that rule for anyone.

But that led to another problem. All the rooms on the third floor were occupied, and no one felt like giving her Ikutsuki's old room on the fourth floor. Midori offered to squeeze and share her room, but even Yukari, who still wanted as little to do with – and be as far away from - Chidori as possible, argued against it.

Chidori herself had been asked for her input, and the answer was far less than helpful. "Somewhere I can be alone" she said, causing no relief to the building headaches.

Then Aigis had come up with a solution. Mitsuru would move upstairs to the former Chairman's room, Midori or Fuuka could move from the end of the hall to Mitsuru's room, and Aigis would act as a buffer between Yukari and wherever Chidori would end up.

One quick game of Jan-Ken-Pon later, and Midori realized that she now had the largest room on the girls floor. Minato and Akihiko had been recruited to help rearrange everything, and it took several hours for everything to be in their new place, despite the assistance of Ken.

Everything, except Chidori's new room, which was still waiting for her personal belongings to be couriered from the hospital. Which is why she had come down at that exact moment, hoping she could finally get access to her art supplies.

Ryoji saw her and instantly turned on the charm. "Oh! I didn't see your beautiful self there. Junpei had nothing but adoration to say for all the pretty ladies living in this dorm, but he never mentioned you and your beauty!" He smiled and approached to within an arms length of her. "Have you seen Junpei? About my height, has a baseball cap, and is an awesome fellow?"

Chidori nodded, slightly. "I know of whom you speak." Even she recognized the necessity of keeping his death a secret for now, even though she knew that he still lived on in her. His hat she had kept, and nothing would separate it from her.

"Oh! That's good. Do you know where he is? He and I have plans, you know."

"No, I didn't. And I couldn't say where he is." She tried to slip by him to head for the dining area. Someone had laid out sandwiches for people to eat, and her plan was to grab one then return to her new cell until her stuff arrived.

Ryoji intercepted her, ignoring the death glare that she sent his way. He did see, however, Aigis come down the stairs, now in her school uniform. "Aigis! I am so glad to see you."

"Leave, Ryoji-san." Aigis intoned as she came to a halt beside Chidori. "You are not welcome here."

Ryoji sighed, "Look, if he doesn't want to come down, that no reason to send you two to protect him. He should do it himself." He obviously didn't like being stonewalled, and was looking to not take it out on the two women before him. But mostly, he sounded sad.

"He's not here, Ryoji-san," Chidori repeated, "I would rather you not be here either."

"Very well. I will be back tomorrow." Ryoji spun around on his heels and left.

He didn't come back. Not the next day, or the day after.

**25 November 2009**

**Gekkoukan High, Classroom 1-B**

**Lunch Hour**

"Hey Midori! What does it feel like to live in a Cursed and Haunted Dorm?" Chihiro said as she set down her own bento on the desk between her and Midori.

Looking up, Midori slurped the noodles dangling from her mouth in surprise. "Hrm?" She wiped stray liquid from her chin. "What do you mean? Cursed and Haunted?"

"Well, you know how that Aramaki-san..."

"Aragaki" Midori instantly corrected.

"Right, Aragaki. Well, he was killed in that Yakuza shooting, right?" Midori nodded, not quite sure where this was going. "And Yamagishi Fuuka vanished for like, two weeks then moved in. Now that boy from 2-E, Iori something? Well, word around the teachers is that he's gone missing too. And when Sari-chan passed by your place last night, she swears she saw a ghost in one of the rooms! A white dress and everything!"

Midori blinked. "What." In reflection, she could completely understand why people would come to that conclusion, and in another life, she would have too. Maybe even done a show about it. But now, all she could do was try and figure out how she could explain that, no, her dorm was neither haunted, nor cursed.

Well, she could be certain about the haunting part. The Curse? Well, maybe she should talk to people about that. You could never go wrong with having a priest bless a building.

The school's public announcement system clicked into life. "A-hem. Would Komaki Midori-san and Kirijo Mitsuru-san please report to the Teacher's Lounge? Thank you."

Midori took that as her cue to finish her lunch, drinking down the last of the soup broth and shovelling in the remaining instant noodles. "I'll see you later, after Tennis." With that as her apology, she headed for the Teacher's Lounge.

**Teacher's Lounge**

She saw Mitsuru waiting by the entrance to the lounge. Bowing in greetings, she saw that her face was still locked in the impassive form it had been for two days now. She would have to do something about that. "Were you told what this was about?"

Mitsuru shook her head. "No, I was not. I was hoping you may have some clue, but such is obviously not the case."

Together they entered, and Midori's face lit up. "Lieutenant Izuna!" The SDF Officer and her commanding officer, Captain Fushimi stood and greeted her.

Completely unfazed that Midori would know SDF officers by name, but simply chalked it up to another aspect of her that could be filed under what happened in the Tokyo Lockdown. Thankful that they were in dress uniform and not ready for battle, Mitsuru bowed. "I am Student Council President Kirijo. You called for us?"

Captain Fushimi came towards her. "Ah, I do apologize for this inconvenience. We are taking this time to interview Komaki-san for our six-month followup about the events in Tokyo. There is also something I must discus with you as President of the Kirijo Group in a more official capacity. A communication has been sent through the proper channels, but I am taking this opportunity to let you know personally in order to expect it." He bowed, causing Mitsuru to return it.

"You wanted to talk to me?" Midori asked with some trepidation, even though she was happy to see her fellow Demon Tamer.

Izuna offered a comforting smile, which also had a predatory twinge to it with her harsh expression and sharply cut hair. Midori only saw the comfort. It was hard to dislike someone who climbed the Hills with her and the others. "It shouldn't take too long. We arrived in town earlier than expected. We were hoping to talk with you after class, but decided to let you know early."

Midori bowed. "I will be available to you. It's good to see you again, and I look forward to talking with you."

"And we, you. We'll talk to you later, Komaki."

So dismissed, Midori practically bounced out of the Lounge, Mitsuru following more sedately. "Komaki, wait."

"Yes, Mitsuru-senpai?"

"Pardon me for asking, but why is it that you of all the Tokyo Transfers get a dedicated interview with an SDF Captain and no one else?"

"Oh, you know, this and that, and helping Izuna-san get to the centre of the Shomankai Cult on the last day and destroying their leadership. It was fun! Very heroic! Lots of fighting!"

**After School, Private Office**

Midori entered, seeing Izuna and Fushimi sitting at the desk. They gestured for her to join them, and she did after closing the door behind her. "Will this take long? I've got a Tennis club training thing going on right now." She said it in such a way that she didn't mind her time being taken in this manner.

"Oh, this shouldn't take too long. We do have a six-month followup report to issue to the government, both for the actual events and the story given to the public. And as such, we just need to talk to you because of the assistance you rendered us." Captain Fushimi opened a folder.

"Let us begin with the official story."

**Later**

"And how are you doing?" Izuna leaned forward, the collar on her shirt open. "New city, new school, new friends. It all had to be hard to adapt." The formal briefing and questioning was over, so she felt that a more casual approach would allow her to get answers to some things that bothered her.

Midori shook her head. "I got lucky. The Minatodai Dorm is a good place. I was welcomed with open arms, and I've made new friends. I'm still be in contact with my old friends in Tokyo."

"They've asked you about the events of the Lock Down?"

"Oh, sure, a couple times. Sanada-sensei,... er... Akihiko-san, he's made some connections about the violence of the last couple days. He's been very supportive."

Fushimi looked up. "Do we have to talk to him?" He had to deal with people who poked too much into the final conflicts over the past few months, and didn't look forward to doing it again.

"No! No. He's just been looking at the wrong things to worry about the real things." Midori dismissed the Captain's concerns with a casual wave. "No, our problems are more local in nature."

"Ah yes. We heard about the assault. Your medical file is flagged by us, so when you were admitted to the hospital, we were notified." Izuna pointed out quickly. "We are also glad that you have recovered so quickly."

Midori rubbed the back of her head in gratitude. "I had good doctors. I'll pass along your compliments when I see them next."

It was Fushimi's turn to dismiss the concerns. "That is quite alright. You need not go out of your way for that."

Midori nodded. "How is everyone else? I mean, I hear from some people, but not from others."

The two SDF officers exchanged a glance. "Well, we can tell you that Amane has been transferred into witness protection permanently to avoid repercussions from former cult membership. We obviously can't say where she's gone. That may be why you haven't heard from her."

"Ah" Midori said in understanding. "That's sad though. Leaving behind the friends she made on the last day."

Not bother to respond to that, Fushimi closed the folder. "Thank you, Komaki-san. You are dismissed."

Midori bowed, then broke protocol and hugged Izuna. "It's good to see you again. I've missed all of you."

The older woman returned the gesture. "You kids did a wonderful job, and we are all proud of you. Thank you. We can't say it enough."

"You're welcome! That's what heroes are for!" Midori broke contact, then left the SDF officers behind.

"..."

"..."

"She's hiding something."

"Yes, but what? And should we pry?"

"At this time? No." Fushimi shook his head. "She hasn't had much sleep in the past few days, that much is obvious. There's no need for us to push at this point. It could just be normal teenager things."

**26 November 2009**

**Minatodai Dormitory, 2nd Floor Sitting Area**

**Evening**

Fuuka caught up to Chidori as she ascended back to her bare room. "Hey, two things. First, your stuff arrived from the hospital today, and we put it in front of your door. Secondly, we're going to be making a trip into Tartarus tonight."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"SEES policy is that everyone able is to come, and although you're not a member, no one is willing to let you stay here during the Dark Hour with no supervision."

Chidori grunted. She couldn't care much less.

"Well, that means that you'll be coming with us. We won't ask you to do anything, and you won't be issued an Evoker." Fuuka tried to smooth things over between the two of them with the subtle peace offering.

"I will bring my art supplies."

"Of course."

**Tartarus, Lobby**

**The Dark Hour**

The goal was simple, as Minato hoped. People were stressed and needed an outlet for their release. They couldn't go for the obvious target as no matter what people thought about her, so this was the next best option for them at this point.

Besides, he had been meaning to polish off some of Elizabeth's challenges and requests for some time now. He might as well take care of many things at once.

First up was Yukari, Mitsuru and Midori. He had asked their senpai to talk to Yukari about her feelings while he talked to Midori about something that needed doing in private.

**Tartarus, 4****th**** Block**

They had split into two teams to hunt for the Rare Forms that Fuuka indicated would be more common on this floor. Midori had joined him with the same goal.

He reflected upon her progress since joining SEES not even three months previously. Her first attempt at hunting a Rare Form had gone quite... poorly.

No, he had to admit she cheerfully screwed it up despite warnings against it. Her intense desire to announce her attacks and inability to realize that attacking head on wasn't the best solution to all problems had caused them to lose out on several of the golden shadow hands. He had publicly yelled at her for her mistakes, shaming her to the point where she seemed to have wiped the memory from her head.

But since then, she had taken to the concept of 'stealth' very much. She had invested in a pair of good shoes and followed his lead explicitly. And not once had she yelled out "MAGICAL PUNISHMENT!" while on a hunt since!

He pulled up around a corner, checking to see the area was clear. "You have a moment?" It was a rhetorical question as he leaned against the wall, glaring at Midori through his bangs.

Midori _knew_ that look. It was the look that spoke of a stern talking-to in the immediate future. Like right about now. She put on her most innocent expression and gave a perky "Yes?" in response.

"You said a couple things a couple nights ago that I wanted to talk to you about."

"Did I?"

"How do you know about Persona Fusion?"

Midori knew that she had been caught. At least it was by the party leader, and not by, say, Mitsuru. That wouldn't have ended well. "Would you believe me if I said I was just that smart, and able to recognize when two demons join into one?"

"No." His voice was flat and it was patently obvious that he didn't buy her answer.

Midori took a deep breath. Since her slip up, she had been preparing a lie to cover herself. Time to put it to the test. "Oh fine." Step one, don't act like you're lying. In this case, act like it wasn't supposed to be a big thing. "When I first awoke to the Persona, when I called forth Frosty, you saw him. He was huge. Well, Igor needed to talk to me to bring my power under control. He did, and from that, we started talking. He mentioned Fusions as one of his services."

Minato knew she was lying. Midori didn't have the capacity for multiple Personas despite the disunion between her arcana and the arcana of her Persona. And as such, would have no need for Fusions. And Igor _wasn't_ that... social. He knew she was lying, but he couldn't _prove_ it, nor could he countermand her at this time.

He did have a theory based on the things Mitsuru had found out. He had to accept the possibility that there was another 'Wild Card' that participated in the events of the Lock Down, and she had gleaned her information from him. Or her.

The possibility that _Midori_ herself was a Wild Card, and was deliberately hiding her true strength for whatever purpose ran into his head. It was instantly thrown out when every last but of her character opposed such a deception.

He bounced himself off the wall. "Fine. Tell me then. What are Social Links?"

Midori blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

"Social Links. The power that comes from connecting with other people too... you have no idea, do you?"

After shaking her head in the negative, it was her turn to unleash a predatory smile on Minato. "Now you have to tell me!"

"No!"

"Come on! I'm the only one who believes you about the Velvet Room and Igor and Elizabeth and Theodore! You gotta share!"

Resigned, Minato knew she was right. She was the only one who he could relate to about such matters, and to be honest, part of him wanted to express himself to someone who knew he was telling the truth. Sighing, he sat down and invited Midori to do the same. Side by side he explained to her about the apparent workings of how Social Links affected his ability to empower his Personas.

Listening in, Midori could find no parallel in her experiences with Demons, and simply accepted this as another difference between her world and theirs.

Then something clicked in her head, a logic trip that caused her to jump up and point. "You! You're dating Yukari! Is she one the Links?"

Minato nodded. "Lovers. Fuuka is Priestess, Mitsuru is Empress. Same as their inherent arcana. The entirely of SEES is covered under the Fool link."

Midori's hand itched closer to her weapon, her voice narrow. "So you're dating Yukari just for a power-up...?"

Realizing the danger he was in, Minato raised his hands defensively. "No! No! You've got that wrong! I like her! I'd still be with her even if she wasn't!"

She relaxed. "Oh, hey Yukari!"

Minato cried out in shock and jumped up, spinning around to see where the archer was. Seeing nothing, he turned back to Midori, who had a far too huge smile on her face. "Gotcha!" She spun on her heel to present her back to him. "So, am I one of your links too?"

"No," Minato admitted. "You could have been, now that I think about it. I already have a Moon link with someone, and that's your arcana."

"That's alright. I suppose having one girl in the Dorm you don't have a personal relationship with like that can be good."

"Well, there's also Aigis and Chidori that I don't have linked as individuals."

"Interesting. I'll bet Aigis would be so happy to find out that you don't connect to her like you do to Mitsuru-senpai or Fuuka."

"Now you're pushing it." He wagged a warning finger at his junior. "Now, you get to tell me something about you."

"This isn't sharing time!" Midori objected to being suddenly thrust into a game she grew out of back when she was six.

A glint of gold behind her, and Minato dropped the subject. "Rare form, behind you. It hasn't seen us yet." Midori twisted to look, confirming the presence of the desired shadow. "Fuuka! Get the others over to my location please!" He sent the mental message aloud to their controller at the Lobby. "Damn, I don't want it to get away. Midori, can you circle around?"

Looking around, Midori thought hard, recalling how this particular iteration of this floor of Tartarus was laid out. She knew that they were along one edge of a box of corridors, and she also knew the rules about being separated from the group. You never knew when you would get overwhelmed by yourself.

"No..." An idea occurred to her, and she evoked Frosty. Once the Persona was manifested, she knelt down and pointed down a corridor perpendicular to the unaware golden Shadow. "Frosty," she said politely but firmly, "I need you to run down that way, and all the way around" she drew a large circle with her arm, "and scare that Rare Form over to Minato and me. Can you do that?"

Frosty nodded and ran off, the small Persona quickly vanishing from sight. Minato looked on, aghast at the apparent impossibility before him, despite it being the logical combination of her ability to keep Frosty manifested for long periods of time, and its ability to act as her puppet.

Oh, Mitsuru was going to go completely bonkers when he told her about this one. But first, there was a Rare Form to smash and rewards to reap.


	18. 27 Nov 2009 to 30 Nov 2009

**26 November 2009**

**Tartarus, Lobby**

**The Dark Hour**

Chidori had discovered, much to her annoyance, that she had chosen to sit in a spot that had already been claimed by her friendly nemesis-in-personality. That being sitting on the steps leading up to the first entrance to Tartarus. But it was the only place she could properly bring up her knees and draw. And if that meant sharing conceptual seating space with the crazy Persona user, then that was the price she had to pay.

Midori had come down with the rest of her group from the heights of Tartarus. Even though she was exhausted, she still had energy to give the red-head a hot look that spoke volumes about having her seat stolen.

In the meantime, the leader had replaced his girl entourage with the boy, Koromaru, and the boxer before returning to the upper reaches of this place for further training.

Against her better judgement and desire to work on her art, she found herself putting down her pens and pencils when the Fuuka girl activated her Persona. Helios had inherited many abilities and functions from Medea, even through Junpei's more aggressive influence. And Helios, like Medea, didn't absolutely require an Evoker to function, so she had set it to spying on Juno.

It was gathering interesting information, to say the least. So many different traits. Helios emitted life as a means of checking the region both for the shadows cast by Shadows as well as by Personas and their users. She figured that there were huge differences between her Helios and the far more specialized Juno, differences that meant she didn't feel threatened by anything the lavender-haired girl was capable of.

Her attention was returned to the real world when Fuuka dismissed her Persona and stomped over to Chidori, drawing the attention of everyone else present in the lobby. The two of them matched gazes, though Chidori won easily due to the difference in the power of their egos.

"Don't spy on me." Fuuka finally said quietly, accepting her defeat. "It's rude."

Chidori only huffed. "Can't help it. You broadcast."

Fuuka narrowed her eyes, glanicng at Mitsuru for support against the external interloper. "You do." she agreed instead. "I may not be able to sense much, but I can still tell when you activate Juno, even upstairs."

Chidori, vindicated by the agreement, returned back to her drawings.

**5****th**** Block**

Minato thought hard as he moved up through the Block of Tartarus. It wasn't the thoughts of combat that filled his head, but of truth and lies. When he gathered everyone up to head back down and switch out teams he had made a quick stop at the Velvet Room.

Igor and Elizabeth had proven to be less than... helpful. He had avoided answering his questions is a very blunt manner, even pointing out that Igor wasn't about to betray the trust of [i]anyone[/i] that came into his domain.

But what he got from that was just more suspicions. Just how much did Midori know, and the source of her knowledge?

The only answer he could come up with was that Midori already knew about Personas when she charged the Hermit those weeks ago. But that raised a whole host of new questions. Were there other people out there fighting in the Dark Hour? Did they have their own versions of Tartarus or Strega to deal with?

He didn't know how to break this subject to her. Not so long after she joined, as much of an effort she had put into helping SEES with her own problems. It made a certain amount of sense, if she was already aware of the stakes involved.

But then again, that asks - again, how she knew in the first place. What had happened?

And his thoughts turned to Tokyo.

**27 November 2009**

**Minatodai Dorm, 4th Floor Meeting Room**

**Evening**

Akihiko walked in, having been summoned by Mitsuru. He found her sitting behind the Chairman's desk, piles of paper and reports in front of her. "I can't help much with the paperwork" he said with a gentle laugh. "Not my strength."

"Oh, I think you can, Akihiko." Her reply showed how much she wasn't liking this turn of events. "I'm throwing stuff out."

"Oh? It's not like you to discard old files. I recall you saying once you liked to keep the old mistakes around to learn from them."

"I wish this were that simple." She groaned. "Minato told you, right?"

"About last night? Yes."

"I'm just going through all the Kirijo Group files, and sorting out those that Midori has proven to be wrong just through her doing things that we thought were impossible."

"You know, I've long since given up on trying to make sense of half the things she does and says." Akihiko took one of the files and saw it was describing how impossible it was for someone to manifest a Persona outside the Dark Hour. "Keep this one?"

"No. Events during the Tokyo Lockdown show that it's possible."

"You know, of all the things she's done, I'm surprised she hasn't done this yet." He flipped through the pages, eyes glossing over at the mathematical and technical explanation for its premise. He then put it off to one side.

"I have a theory about that. During the Lockdown, I accept that people were fighting each other a lot. It occurred to me that Midori only uses Frosty in the Dark Hour to avoid situations where she would be tempted to use him against other people; a form of mental self control."

"I'm sorry. You're implying that Midori of all people wouldn't jump on the chance to be special like that?"

"Yes. For all her outward actions, I believe she is a very intelligent, very capable young woman who is well aware of the consequences of her actions, either through experience or through preparation." Mitsuru tossed another file to the side, this time into a smaller pile that seemed to be the keepers.

Akihiko shook his head. "I think we're talking about two different people then."

"Minor case of dissociative identity?" Mitsuru missed the point of the comment entirely. "No, her acting skills are good enough. I've been watching her broadcasts."

"It must be hard. Having so much work by your father and your company get tossed out like this due to the ignorant achievements of one girl."

"No." Mitsuru accepted the damning praise with grace. "It just goes to show that we can't learn everything by staying in the lab. We have to get out into the real world to put out knowledge into practice, and to find the real limits. Or to exceed them." Another file into the stack to be taken away. "Although the worst part is that she's not even aware of all this."

"You could always summon her to help out."

"And risk her getting into the files? No thank you."

**29 November 2009**

**Minatodai Dormitory, 3rd Floor Sitting area**

**Afternoon**

Chidori came back from the ladies room to find Yukari weeping over her precious drawings.

"Give them back!" she snapped, rushing over to snatch the papers from the young girl's hands before she ruined them. "They're not yours!" The hiss was angry and full of spite. How dare she sully her pictures?

"You!" Yukari let Chidori take back what was hers without much opposition. She looked up at the white-dressed woman, emotion meeting stoicism. "Why are you doing so many pictures of him?"

Chidori slapped Yukari. It was a sudden thing, the red mark on Yukari's face. "NEVER! Never question that!"

Yukari sat there, stunned as Chidori roughly gathered up the rest of her materials and stormed off to her room.

Aigis at this point, poked her head out of her room, and saw the still Yukari. Realizing that this was something that would severely hamper team dynamics in the future, she slid out and moved towards Yukari. Placing one hand on her shoulder, Aigis now found herself without any frame of reference to advance with. This sort of thing was something Minato was far better at.

"What is wrong?"

"Wrong? Everything! Junpei's gone, that girl is here, and everything!" Yukari slid over to allow Aigis to sit. "You understand, don't you?"

Protocol prevented her from lying. "I do not."

Yukari looked at Aigis with disbelief on her face. At this, Aigis felt compelled to elaborate. "I am a machine. I do not understand what it means to be 'alive'."

"You... But I thought... the Persona required something like that?" Yukari sniffed as she tried to understand.

"That is not correct. What is required is a sense of self. I am Aigis. There is no other like me, not even any of my sisters can claim that they are me." She knew she was skirting the edge of what she was allowed to say, but felt it was justified for the goal of returning harmony to SEES.

"Then if you aren't alive..."

"I cannot understand 'death'. On an intellectual level, I know what it entails. But as I 'function', rather than 'live', I can always be repaired. I do not fear death like you do, and as such, I cannot understand what it is."

"Why tell me this?"

"Because if I cannot understand, how can I be your friend? I am a machine, I cannot die, yet without this, am I not missing something vital?"

Chidori spoke up from behind them, unnoticed. "Then come to the room I occupy."

Yukari started, and Aigis spun around to determine how Chidori had done that. What she saw was that the former Strega member had wiped off the makeup she usually wore and had removed the headdress. Evaluating what she saw, she had to determine that Chidori looked...

Normal.

"What do you want?" Yukari asked, also taking in the small transformation.

"To show the tin-girl here what death means." Chidori spun on her toes and walked back to her room without another word.

"I think we should see what she wants." Aigis partially lifted Yukari up and led her down the hall to Chidori's room. The door was unlocked and they entered.

Chidori's room was empty. No, that wasn't the right word. It had a bed with sheets, a closet with her few clothes, and Junpei's hat sitting on the bare desk.

But the walls were covered in drawings. A massive amount of sketches showing everything from plants and flowers to scenes of life around the city.

But what was mostly there was Junpei. Face and headshots, him smiling, looking serious, and all the expressions and poses between. On any other day, this would have been a creepy stalker's monument, but here? It was memory made manifest.

"Death is loss, Aigis. Only when you lose something that can never be replaced can you understand death. And only when you hold on to that which will be lost can you understand life."

**30 November 2009**

**SEES Dormitory, Entrance**

**Evening**

"You're going shopping without me!?" Midori nearly screeched, causing Minato and Ryoji to wince in pain. Minato had finally convinced the newest student to come over to the dorm again, and apparently Aigis had taken that time to announce that she was taking Chidori out to get new clothes, her current selection consisting of the one dress. Yukari had announced she was going with them, and invited Mitsuru as well.

This left Midori being the single girl out.

"Look," Yukari said as she pulled on her jacket due to the declining weather, "Aigis is going for security, Chidori has to, Mitsuru has the money, and I'm the fashion consultant."

"_You_ think you know fashion better than me?" Midori was incredulous.

"Well, in so much as store fashions meant for wearing day to day, and not the costumes you two cook up – that I'll leave to you." She leaned in to whisper in Midori's ear. "Besides, this is a me thing. I've been wrong to blame her for Junpei's death. I still hate her, but I can't blame her. This is me trying to be the better person, and I don't need you there."

Midori understood. "You want me to clean up her room while you're out?"

Yukari shook her head. "No need. We'll be back before midnight."

Mitsuru walked by. "Actually, you are to study. Your grades have been slipping since the midterms, and I want you to raise them."

"Five lousy percent! On Math! That's it!" Midori objected hard at the implications. Mitsuru levelled her commanding gaze at Midori, who in turn shrunk back. "Yes, Senpai" Defeated, she went back to her room, though once she was out of sight, she broke into a huge grin at the start of the slow process of rebuilding friendships.


	19. 02 Dec 2009 to 03 Dec 2009

[b]02 December 2009

Minatodai Dormitory, 4th Floor Control Room

Late Night[/b]

Force of habit brought SEES together in the room as the clock ticked towards midnight. Outside, clouds partially obscured the height of the full moon. The room was quiet, no one daring to break the spell of silence. "Almost..." Fuuka watched the clock most intensely, Evoker in her hand, ready for the moment the Dark Hour came into existence.

"What do we do if there really is a thirteenth Shadow?" Yukari asked, the worry in her voice expressed doubly by the wringing of her hands.

"Then we'll beat it up. Simple as that." Midori said, drawing an approving nod from Akihiko.

"Actually, where's Aigis?" The boxer asked of Mitsuru.

It was Minato who replied. "She was downstairs, the last time I saw her." He stood up. "I'll go get her."

Leaving the Command Room, he came across Chidori, who was sitting patiently. Gone was the Gothic clothes she usually wore, instead her shopping trip with the others had produced for her a simple white blouse and blue skirt, which she currently wore. Privately, he thought it looked better on her. "Walk with me?" He asked, "Just going to get Aigis, wherever she is."

Chidori, having nothing better to do as Koromaru was with the rest of SEES, agreed. "Very well."

They went down the first flight of stairs, where Minato stopped. "We should check her room first." He made a sharp right and began to walk down the girl's hallway, passing by Yukari's and Midori's rooms to Aigis'. The door was unlocked, and a quick peek showed that their missing robot wasn't present.

As they descended further to the main floor, Minato spoke up. "About Midori..."

Behind him, Chidori couldn't see his eyes. "What about her?"

"You told Junpei that she has a weird Persona. He told me, and I've been trying to figure things out on my end. I was wondering what he told you as well, as there may be a reasonable explanation."

Unsure of that, Chidori explained her observations about Midori's lack of a Persona; like she could turn it on or off at will, like a switch. "I have never heard of anything like that before. Even when I observed you switching Personas through the use of your 'Wild Card'," - the quote marks were nearly physical, the way she said it - "yours was a constant presence."

Minato pondered this. "What do you know about what happened in Tokyo over the summer?"

"You mean the religious attack on the one section of the city?"

"Yes. Midori was one of the people involved, and our research has indicated that during the Lockdown, the Shomankai cult forced the development of Personas, not unlike what was done with you." There. He made the connection between the two of them. Now to see how she would react.

Chidori didn't speak. The two of them finally checked the rest of the dorm, then climbed back up to the meeting room, this time she didn't wait outside, but rather stepped through the doorway and made herself like a fly on the wall even in the face of Yukari's exclamation.

"Almost time..." Fuuka said, and the Dark hour came.

[b]Moonlight Bridge, Apex

The Dark Hour[/b]

Aigis and Ryoji faced each other, confessing their failures. One, the failure to contain the other, the other, a failure to understand their own nature.

Death and the Maiden fought.

[b]Minatodai Dorm, 4th Floor Control Room

The Dark Hour[/b]

Yukari jumped as Minato opened the door, bringing Chidori in after him. "Don't scare me like that!" She returned her gaze to Fuuka, who was ensconced in Juno. "No Shadows?"

"I'm still looking." Fuuka said distractedly. "Please be patient."

Mitsuru turned her attention to Yukari. "Is there a problem?"

Ken spoke in reply for all of them. "It's just that we're nervous. What if there's another Shadow outside Tartarus?"

"I'm not scared! Magical Punishment to all evildoers!" Midori raised her hands in preemptive victory, but slowly took them down in the face of the sombre mood.

"And yet you're the only one who is actually looking forward to this." Akihiko added in a slight admonishment to Midori's developing annoyance that people weren't getting into the act.

"Still, why is Chidori here?" Yukari switched the topic to the newest arrival.

Minato shrugged, but his response was stopped in its tracks by Fuuka. "I think I've found her! Well, I think I did. I sensed a Persona on the Moonlight Bridge, but then nothing. But it was Aigis! I'm certain!"

"Then let's go." Mitsuru grabbed her Evoker and the rest of SEES followed suit.

[b]Moonlight Bridge, Apex[/b]

Aigis was motionless. With her motors and servos fried, there was nothing she could have done. Smoke filtered from damage to her chassis, while her mind was screaming from the warnings about possible danger. The warnings that were still working, that is.

Koromaru ran into her vision, though she couldn't focus on him. He was barking, she was sure of it, but she couldn't actually hear anything. She focused repairs onto her audio systems.

Then Minato was there, in front of her, kneeling to look into her face. He was safe! But she still had things to do. "I... I'm sorry." Aigis managed to stutter out, amazed that her vocal matrix was still working. "I... every... ever... remember... Ever. Everything-ing." Functionality improved with use. "Who I am. Who [i]he[/i] is." She tried to point at Death where he currently stood, but she couldn't.

Minato got closer to her to allow her to speak without stress. "I'm sorry. I failed. I wanted to be by your side and now I know why."

Ryoji spoke up, though quietly. "I am sorry too, Aigis. I never meant for things to come to this."

Ken and Midori reacted instantly to the new presence, taking a guard position between Ryoji and Aigis. "You!"

It was Fuuka who found purpose for her voice first. "Ryoji-kun! What are you doing here?" Then her gaze was drawn back to Aigis. "No! Aigis!"

The robot had stopped moving. She had powered down and no longer functioned. "It's all my fault." Ryoji admitted, ashamed.

Raising his Evoker to his head, Akihiko made his demands; "Who are you? WHAT are you?" Mitsuru pulled out her own weapons, stepping up to form a line with him, Midori and Ken. Here, in the Dark hour, even they could tell that Ryoji wasn't fully human.

"... I am that which you would call a Shadow." Ryoji finally admitted to both himself and to others. "I am their embodiment. That which was born from the union of the Twelve Shadows you have defeated. I am The Appraiser."

"That makes no sense!" Midori hissed, twirling her club in one hand. "What did you do to Aigis? Will she be alright?"

"I think she shut down to protect herself." Chidori commented from beside Fuuka. With no Evoker, she stayed back. But she could still sense about her with Helios. "That," she pointed at Ryoji, "is Death made flesh."

Mitsuru still held her doubts. "Does this mean you know the truth of the Shadows?"

Nodding his head, Ryoji carefully kept himself from doing something that would be considered aggressive. "Yes. I must tell you if you are to understand what is to come. We existences called 'Shadows' are here to facilitate the rebirth of our maternal creator being. She will awaken as she draws closer to me."

"What 'Maternal Being'?" Midori got the question out before anyone else, though they too wanted to say the same thing.

"There is no word in any human language for an entity of her compare. She is... No. I must start from the beginning." Ryoji backpedalled through his thoughts. "Ten years ago, a man collected to himself a great number of shadows an contained them. That is where I was born. But our..." he paused to search for the words he needed "... unification? Yes, our Unification was interrupted. I awoke from my fellow Shadows in an incomplete state. Not long after, I fell to Aigis, and she to me."

He looked past the wall of people guarding Minato. "She could not defeat me, here on this bridge all that time ago. In an act of desperation, she sealed me, my essence into a nearby child. The only suitable container. That child grew up, carrying me inside him. Then you came back, Minato Arisato."

Yukari was shocked, and she could see the look of sickness that washed over her Minato's face. "But that...!"

"Yes." Ryoji confirmed their fears. "I existed inside of him. I am the reason that his powers awoke as a Wild Card. And when he awoke, he let the rest of the Shadows out of their slumber. All to become one with me." He dropped to his knees, weeping human tears. "This is all my fault! All mine!"

He fell over. "Ryoji!" Minato broke ranks and rushed to his friend.

"We need to go back to the dorm." Mitsuru said, buying time for her to think about this. A Human Shadow? That was impossible! And yet she had seen too many impossible things over the past few months to dismiss the idea.

[b]03 December 2009

Minatodai Dorm, 4th Floor Control Room

Evening[/b]

Patiently, Ryoji waited for them at the top floor of the Dorm. He had been there ever since he had woken up earlier in the morning and between Chidori and Koromaru, he had been kept under constant watch. Mitsuru had taken Aigis back to her company to see what could be done for her, and was still away.

They filed in quietly and sat down. "Is that all?" Ryoji asked politely.

"Except for Aigis and Mitsuru." Minato calmly held Yukari back from snarling the same response as he apologized for their absence.

"I apologize for that." Ryoji muttered, clearly upset with himself.

"Then we should begin." Akihiko cut off the possibility of further delays. "What do you have to tell us?"

"Yes, more. There are many questions. Where to begin?" Ryoji muttered.

"What about this [i]maternal being[/i]? That sounds like a good place to start." Fuuka prodded the self-admitted Shadow.

Ryoji took a deep, steadying breath. "Nyx. That is her name. She is the mother of Shadows, and in ancient times, brought the concept of 'Death' into the world. It she awakened, she will once again cover all the lands and life will vanish."

Midori choked as the others raised their voices in alarm, not understanding what was being described. But she did. She knew. [i]Nyx was a Demon[/i]. That was the only answer that she could think of. She started to laugh.

Even for a group that had gotten used to her oddities over the past three months, this was a new experience. When faced with testimony from their final foe that the Fall that Takaya and Ikutsuki promised was real, and that the Lost would be everyone, laughing at it wasn't something they would have expected from her. A dramatic declaration of how they would be victorious, certainly. But not a pitying laugh of one who had seen through to the truth.

"What's so funny?" Ken asked in a tone of voice that he used when he was talking to people like they were idiots. He had a lot of opportunity to use it on Midori, and the practice had paid off.

"Everything! All this talk about the Fall and the Lost and now Nyx, and I now know that it can't happen!" She giggled some more as some of the people around her deduced that her psyche had simply cracked like an egg from the stress and truth.

"Why would you say that?" Ryoji asked, confusion in his voice. If there was something out there that could stop Nyx, it was his duty to discover more about it.

"Because the Great Seal is still intact! I helped fix it!" Midori held a triumphant grin on her face.

"What Seal?" This came from Minato and Midori realized that she had just screwed up again. She shouldn't be talking about that.

"Excuse me." She said as she stood up, only to find Akihiko's iron grip around her wrist. She looked down at him, pleading with her eyes to let her go, but he didn't relent. Not this time.

"What Seal?" Akihiko repeated the question, not willing to let her go until she had told everyone what she was talking about.

"Please," Midori begged, trying to escape the grip. "Don't ask that! I made promises!"

"A Great Seal in Tokyo?" Minato thought aloud, causing Midori to freeze, her heart skipping a beat or three. "What did you really do in Tokyo?"

"No... please... You don't understand." Midori watched as her world was threatened to be destroyed with just a few words.

"I do." Ryoji said. "I know of that which you speak, and why you are so afraid." He stood up. "I must speak with her about her fears, privately."

They looked to Midori, who only had one thing to say. "Prove it."

"I know of those crowned with the name of Bel." Ryoji spoke, knowing the weight of the words he had.

Her heart jumped to her throat. "Then you know you can't." Midori had forgotten that the rest were still there. "Nyx can't descend. He's in the way!"

Ryoji shook his head sadly. "But Nyx and her Shadows, they are a part of humanity. The rule of the Bel does not intercede against them."

Midori heard the words, but refused to listen. "No! He can still help! I'll tell him and he'll come!"

Ryoji put his hands in her free hand. "But he is still only human. No matter his name or his heritage, he too is part of the Death that Nyx brings. He cannot stop it. No one can."

Midori refused to believe. "No! I'll show you!" With a wrench, she ripped herself from Akihiko's grasp and ran from the room.


	20. 11 Dec 2009 to 30 Dec 2009

**11 December 2009**

**Minatodai Dorm, 3rd Floor, Midori's Room**

**Morning**

She stared at her COMP. There would be no help from her friends in Tokyo. Of all of them, only she had a Persona, and Abel wasn't able to leave Tokyo due to Demon things, or so he said.

He did apologize, and told Midori in no uncertain terms that he was confident she could resolve this herself, without any extra help. It was a sentiment that warmed her heart whenever she thought about how the others didn't understand that the unbeatable can be beaten.

On the top screen, a simple message was composed. She had already pressed against the limits of her promise to Igor already, but yet she felt the necessity of doing more. It wasn't that she wanted to hurt Igor's feelings, but something stayed her hand from sending this one last message to her friend.

"_What do you know about Nyx?"_

**16 December 2009**

**Minatodai Dormitory, 3rd Floor Seating Area**

**Afternoon**

Midori opened the door, annoyed that her prep-work for the trip into Tartarus that evening was being interrupted. "Yes..ss?" He preemptive question short circuited by Mitsuru in her day clothes standing there.

"Komaki-san, may I come in?"

"Sure!" Recovering from her startled state of mind, "Just give me a moment..." she turned back to start and clean up some space for her senpai to sit. Eventually she just made room at her desk for her senior to sit. "How may I help you?"

"I wanted to talk."

Midori paused before resuming cleaning up a space for her to sit, cursing her inability to keep her room tidy for guests. Finding a measuring tape in her hand, she set it around the neck of the mannequin that was adorned with the still unrepaired purple dress. Every time she went to patch it up, she just couldn't do it. Every piece of damage a testament to her desire to see her convictions through. "About?"

"First, I wanted to thank you for your effort to get help for us with Ryoji's deadline looming over us. I know it couldn't have been easy to ask those whom you helped, and were helped by back in August to come to our aid."

Midori felt the sting on her cheeks. There was no insult here, but it still shamed her to admit to herself that she never once thought about asking for the help of anyone else but Abel. "They... couldn't." She finally said, avoiding giving a tangible answer.

Mitsuru nodded. "I understand. If they no longer wield their Personas, then they have limited options to help."

She helped Mitsuru's errant line of thought along. "I'm the only one with one." It was true, certainly, but it also avoided the truth of the matter.

"Still, I had to thank you. If they are anything like you, I have no doubt they would have helped if they could. I only wish you would have let me know who they were." Mitsuru sighed. "I know I shouldn't worry about you like this, but I have to ask. Your decision regarding Ryoji's offer?"

Her feigned ignorance was betrayed by the slight grin on her face. "What decision?"

Mitsuru smiled. "That's good to hear. I had talks with Yamagishi and Takeba earlier. They are both in agreement."

"Well of course they would be!" She narrowed her eyes as she looked down at her senior. "Then why ask me? I've never made any secret to my thoughts and feelings about this sort of thing."

"Because I've heard from Akihiko and Arisato about you. In the months you have been living here, you and I have never actually sat down and talked."

Looking around, Midori realized the only place left to sit was her bed. She really needed to clean up in here. All the fabric and designs just left about. A total mess. Not even the end of the world would be enough to cause her to change her ways.

Sitting she looked back at Mitsuru, silence in the air. "Talk?"

"I've read your files, the ones that are public record of course. I've seen your school transcripts, but I still don't know you. I don't know what makes you who you are. And that lack, that something that I'm missing... I don't know how to go about relating to people."

"Why start with me? I mean, you're, or you are going to be, the President of the Kirijo Group. Won't you have plenty of practice with your people skills then?"

Shaking her head sadly, Mitsuru confessed her problem. "It's that people already act to me like I'm the President. Those officers with the SDF earlier this month? They treated me like I was... like I was my father."

"And that relates to me, how, exactly?"

Mitsuru paused to consider her words carefully. "I want to talk to you because you are not like me. I want to understand someone who thinks with their heart, not their mind. You don't bow to be because I'm who I am..."

"Yes I do! You're a very scary woman when you want to be!"

Mitsuru shot a piercing gaze at the blue-haired girl. "I... see..."

"Sorry."

"No. Don't be. That's the sort of thing I want to hear."

"Oh. Well, um, let's start with something simple. What do you like to eat?"

**20 December 2009**

**Minatodai Dorm, 4th Floor Control Room**

**Evening**

Minato quietly entered the room, careful to not disturb anything of Mitsuru's. Approaching the computer console that took up a large portion of one wall, he saw that once again the system had glitched out and there was a recording that needed looking after.

Part of him didn't like being a voyeur, but it was something he had been asked to do in good faith by the late and unlamented Ikutsuki, and Mitsuru had approved.

A button was pressed, and the log indicated that it was made during the Dark Hour of the evening of 06 October. With a lurch in his stomach, Minato realized he was looking into Midori's room the night after Shinji was murdered.

He pressed the play button.

On the screen, he watched as Midori sat in her chair, stock still. The camera angle didn't show her face, but he didn't need to to know she was staring at nothing. She reached into her pocket and pulled something out; he couldn't identify it. Then she rushed it between her hands and he watched in shock as Frosty appeared on the table before her.

_She didn't use an Evoker_ he realized.

On the tiny screen, Midori swept Frosty into a large hug and the puppeted Persona deeply. It shocked Minato to see her drop her guard like that, but the circumstances of the moment were far too intense for anything else. He remembered not getting much sleep that night either.

Midori crawled into bed, her Persona used like any child would use a stuffed toy, a source of comfort when all else failed.

Then the Dark Hour ended. And Frosty remained.

"Well, shit." That, he knew, was something he would have to tell Mitsuru.

**22 December 2009**

**3rd Floor Sitting Area**

**Evening**

Yukari grabbed Midori's arm, dragging her into a corner. "Hey! I need your help with something!"

"What?" This confused Midori. Yukari didn't usually act this way around her. "What did you need?"

"I need you to check out Minato's MP3 player!" She let Midori go, clasping her hands together in a gesture of supplication. "Please! I need to know what music he listens to so I know what CD to buy him!"

"Huh? Why me?" Oh. Christmas and New Years. That would explain much. She had already bought her daddy his present, and knew his would arrive on time.

"Because you can! Fuuka can't, she's... well, she's Fuuka! Please! And I asked Akihiko, but he said no! You're my only hope!"

"You asked Akihiko-sensei to spy on Minato-san for you? Of course he'd say no." She groaned in annoyance. "Fine. But you'll owe me. Big time!"

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

**1****st**** Floor Lounge**

Midroi found her target sitting at the dining table, nose in a book. She walked over and traced the line running from his headset and down into his pocket. She gently reached down and started pulling on the cord, drawing a questioning and annoyed glance. Ignoring it, she took his MP3 player in hand and started scrolling through his play-list.

"Why the hell do you have seventeen different versions of "_Burn My Dread_?" Her question at his music choice was full of incredulity. "I mean, come on!|"

Minato took back his music player. "Because it's a good song?"

"That's a given. Thanks." Midori turned and went back to deliver the horrible news to the expectant girlfriend. Her boyfriend's taste in music wasn't easy to expand upon.

Minato shrugged, thankful for the warning from Akihiko. He stood up and pulled out a spare storage device for his player from a different pocket and switched out the music he was listening to the real deal.

While he was looking forward to spending Christmas Eve with Yukari, he didn't quite trust her taste in music.

**23 December 2009**

**Tartarus, Lobby**

**The Dark Hour**

They came down, having pushed their way to the top of the current Block this night. Chidori was tugging at her dress, the hemline soaked with sweat. "Told you you should have used your normal clothes for a serious ascent." Akihiko commented as she responded with a glare.

Midori had to offer her own commentary. "You're lucky. I'm in school, so I have to wear the uniform."

"I recall that first night." Mitsuru commented from her spot by the door. "I had to remind you of the rules."

"Hey! I tried to find a way to have fun in the rules!"

Chidori contemplated the effort of putting on something other than her elegant gothic dress, and decided that this was a decision best made when she wasn't so tired.

**25 December 2009**

**Port Island Station**

**Afternoon**

Ken found her by sitting down, watching the clouds drift by. He sat down beside her, watching what she was. Eventually, he spoke. "Whatcha doing?"

"I could ask you the same thin, Ken-kun." Chidori said quietly.

"I'm just walking. And I keep running into the Lost. You?"

"Thinking about him."

"Oh. Is it hard to?"

"Very much. I imagine us standing together, here and now. Him in that jacket of his. And I realize that it can't be. His life, my life, all as one."

"Sounds complicated."

"You'll learn love eventually, Ken-kun."

"We just have to survive first."

"We will."

"I agree."

"..."

"..."

"So did you spy on Yukari and Minato last night?"

"No. It felt wrong to do so." Chidori spun to look at him. "Was it as bad as I envisioned?"

Ken smiled, and began to relate the 'date' last night. "It was worse! Although Mitsuru-san just didn't get any of it."

**30 December 2009**

**Minatodai Dorm, 1st Floor Lounge**

**Evening**

"No! No! Tape it there!" Midori directed Mitsuru in attaching the "Welcome Home Aigis!" sign to the wall in much the same place that was done for her two months previously. They had been alerted to her return that morning and in response the entire Dorm had spent the day preparing for her arrival.

That included setting up the signs and cleaning up her room in addition to the dozens of other trivial manners.

A knock on the door ushered in a moment of silence. Aigis let herself in, leaving the door open a crack behind her. "I'm home" she announced formally as she waited for the reaction.

"Welcome Home!" Midori cheered loudly a split second before everyone else offered their greetings. Even Chidori offered one in a perfunctory manner.

Surprised by the reaction, Aigis took in the warm faces. "I am.. sorry. I caused all of you worry."

"And we were!" Fuuka complained as she came closer. "No one would tell us anything! But we did send flowers. Did you get them?"

"I did. Thank you." Aigis bowed quickly.

"Well come on in. Don't leave the door open, unless you're planning on leaving so soon?" Akihiko gestured towards the living area with its decorations. He smiled a little, thankful for the return of the missing member of their small family.

"I... was not." Aigis paused, turning back to the door. After a moment's hesitation, she closed it. "You did not have to fear for my return. I am a machine, I can always be rebuilt."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Midori took offence to the apparent self-depreciation.

Aigis turned to face her with a sharp click of her heels. "Even if I am completely destroyed, the programming and technical data to rebuild me still exist. I can be replaced."

A sullen silence descended across the room. "What the hell are you saying?" Akihiko demanded once he found his voice. "That position is ludicrous!"

"Yea!" Yukari pitched in a moment before Midori, Ken and the others sounded off. "You are you! There are no others like you!"

"That is not true." Aigis said, aware that she was pressing the limits of operational security. "I am part of a series of units and there is a prototype unit as well. I can be replaced."

Midori stepped up and slapped Aigis. Hard. It was enough to sting her own hand, but the force of the blow was enough to rock the robot's head around slightly. "That! You feel that!? That's yours and your alone! No one else has that, and no one else can replace that."

Aigis reset her position. "That was uncalled for."

"Necessary." Midori said as she whipped around and made her way past the rest of the stunned group. Slipping by Minato she whispered in his ear "your turn".

Noting to have a stern talk with her later for putting him on the spot, Minato moved forward to try and talk some sense into Aigis. "We mean that you are more than a mere machine. And not just to us, because of all the time we've spent together."

"But.." Aigis struggled for the words. "I _hurt_ you. I caused you pain and suffering." Her voice was quiet, straining against things she couldn't begin to comprehend. "You shouldn't trust me. I'm a failure." She didn't react when Minato put his hand on her shoulder. "Just... You should have just let me be. I am sorry." She looked ashamed at her failure. "Ten years ago, I could not do what must be done."

"I forgive you. You did a splendid job."

"NO!" She tried to push away, but the strength failed her. "When he comes, please... Please accept Ryoji-san's offer."

"What are you talking about, Tin Girl?" Chidori spoke up, "The decision has been made."

"Yea? What's wrong, Aigis?" Ken asked, Koromaru barking to add to the force of the question.

But Aigis had withdrawn into her own little world. "Why? Why did I come back? My mission is over. I cannot protect humanity from the Shadows. I cannot defeat it!" Her shoulders sagged. "So then, why am I here? I am useless." Head snapping up, she stared wide eyed into Minato's own compassionate face. "

"**WHY**? WHY Fight? You can't possibly win! Why do you want to waste your lives?!"

"We're not." Akihiko said quietly. "We have plans for the future. Promises to keep. To ourselves and others. Right, Ken?"

"Right!" the young boy affirmed.

"Why don't I understand?" Aigis muttered. "Why? Is it because I am not alive? I do not possess 'life'?"

"You silly, stupid childish _doll_. Life has nothing to do with it." Chidori snapped, not desiring to see even an emotionless robot wallow in self-pity more than what she had seen. "You're worried. Not just about yourself, but about your friends. Your comrades. If you want to live, then you're doing a fine job of it so far, in my view. No matter how pathetic it may be."

Everyone turned to look at the outburst from their latest member. They hadn't expected that from her. Junpei, maybe. But not her.

"But...! I am a machine! To fight the Shadows! And I can't fulfil that mission with the powers I have been given. So what is my purpose now? Can someone tell me? Please?" Aigis looked around at the circle of people. She wanted an answer to her journey so badly, that even her eyes expressed her pleading emotions.

"We.. we don't have an answer we can give you, Aigis." Minato tried to let her down softly. Instead, she crashed to her knees, the inner turmoil written plainly on her face.

"C'mon! Cheer up!" Midori could hold her silence no longer from where she had stayed at the back of the group, behind Mitsuru. "The only one who can give you purpose is you! Not your creator, not us, or the Shadows. You!"

"There is no easy answer." Mitsuru said, "We are the sum of our experiences, or choices, our purpose is that, and our hopes for the future." She shared a meaningful glance with Akihiko.

Yukari pitched in, the moment getting to her. "Our purpose and our life are one and the same."

"But our lives are not just our own. We share them with the ones we love." Chidori spoke, surprised at herself.

"Even our enemies give us the strength to change, to live and grow." Ken spoke.

Fuuka decided now was the time to chime in. "Look at yourself, Aigis. You too are growing and changing, even as we speak. You are becoming a better person."

"I... I can change?" Aigis seemed to almost dismiss the possibility as a ludicrous gesture. "Do you think so?" Minato was the focus of the question. The pleading her in eyes and voice were clear. She wanted something more, a validation of all she had suffered.

He smiled, nodded, and hugged her.

"Then I know. I... know what my purpose is." A change came over Aigis, like she was shedding her skin. She stood up, a fluid motion that held none of the mechanical avian aspects that used to dominate her. "And _I_ am the one who has done this. _I_ can give these things to myself. _I_ am my new purpose. To be _Me_." She looked around at the smiling faces. "I'm sorry for my outburst earlier. Will you let me join you?"

"DAMN STRAIGHT!" Midori yelled out. "I accept you! One of us!"

Minato agreed. "One of us."

"One of us!" "One of us!" "One of us!"

A loud clapping came from the opened front door. A middle-aged man stood there, dressed in a traditionally styled kimono, full of dark hues in green and blue. "That was beautiful. Truly, it was."

Mitsuru's eyes narrowed. Aigis turned to thank the man who returned her to her family.

And Midori freaked right out. "YOU! YOU! NO! WHY ARE YOU HERE? GET AWAY!"

Naoya smiled and shrugged. "Is that any way to treat a man who's done you such a service?"


	21. 30 Dec 2009

**30 December 2009**

**Minatodai Dorm, 1st Floor Lounge**

**Evening**

They had seen many sides to Midori over the past few months, she wasn't shy about hiding them. Mostly it was the happy girl who put her past behind her and faced each day with a smile and an absurd sense of justice. In Tartarus, they saw a person who would throw herself into any danger with all the resolve and willpower she could muster. And when they had seen her sad or rallying against something that struck her to the core, they knew that she was still herself.

This was the first time they had ever seen her outright terrified.

Naoya stepped a little further into the Dorm, making sure the door was closed behind him to keep the cold out. Everyone stepped back to give him some space, except Aigis who, in her new state of mind, didn't mind his presence, and Midori, who just couldn't move, no matter how much she willed her body to act.

"And you are?" The older man asked casually.

"D... D... D..."

"DDD? No, you look more like a B cup to me." Naoya said, smiling. Turning to the rest, he put on his best smile. "While she gets her brain in order, would you mind if I took a seat? It's been a long walk from the facility, and my knees are starting to complain."

Mitsuru's own mind kicked into gear, recognizing that they had a guest. While she couldn't instantly place his face, Aigis apparently knew him and trusted him, so that had to count for something. She honestly thought she knew everyone involved, but this man eluded her. "Of course, come in. Yamagishi, would you please get some tea for our guest. Arisato, help Komaki please." She guided him to the chair at the head of the table. "Welcome to the Minatodai Dormitory, and thank you for returning our Aigis to us."

Naoya chuckled. It was obvious to him that Mitsuru didn't know the first thing about him, though that other girl's reactions said that she did. He'd have to check that out. "It was nothing, really. I was already in town checking up on some old projects of mine when reports of Aigis' injuries reached my ears." He settled himself into the seat, and thanked Fuuka politely for the cup of tea. "I had to see things for myself, and found myself moved by the thoughts her friends had put into her recovery that I too had to help."

Accepting the praise politely, Mitsuru diverted her attention long enough to check that Minato had taken Komaki around the back of the sign-in desk and was quietly talking to her. Aigis was far more animated, talking with Yukari about what had happened at school while she was away.

She realized that Aigis was more than a weapon now, a change in her that would take some getting used to. Turning her attention back to Naoya, she thought that he had to have known about the Shadows, Dark Hour and Persona if he was allowed to work on Aigis. "I was given to understand her injuries were extreme." She also had to be careful not to use his name, which neither he, nor Midori nor Aigis had revealed.

He put down his cup. "Oh they were! Very much beyond the skills of anyone else, if I do say so myself." Relaxing deeper into the chair, he took in the various social circles people had around him. "Well, don't stand on ceremony for me! There's a party to be had, if the cake on that table back there is any indication!"

Elsewhere, Minato studied Midori's face. She had lost most of the colour in her cheeks, and her eyes were still as wide as saucers. "Come on back to me Midori!" He snapped his fingers in front of her, not even getting a reflexive blink in response. "Come on, Dolly! This isn't the time to panic! Who is he?"

Midori's mouth moved, but no words came out. This just added another degree to Minato's concern. Here was a girl who bounced back from seeing her friends murdered in front of her with barely a scratch to be seen in the eyes of her friends, and this Naoya just shuts her down? Who was he? _What did he do to her_? Images of... things best left unthought roared into his head, but he shut them down. Best not to get ahead of himself.

Then inspiration struck. "Was he in Tokyo? During the Lockdown?"

Midori nodded. Her eyes now focusing on him, an intensity of gaze that would have withered lesser men. He pried some more. "Did he do things to you?"

A shake negative, and Minato let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. If this Naoya had done something to her, to cause her to create Dolly and Black Frost to defend her, then he was quite certain that Naoya would have not left the Dorm alive. But those thoughts could be put away. "Did he have something to do with the lockdown?"

Midori nodded again. This time, a shaking hand reached into a pocket and produced the COMP she carried with her everywhere, even into the Dark Hour. "He made those?" A leap of logic. "For the cultists?" Another nod. "Thank you. You relax. I'll handle him." He patted her on the shoulder and went to talk to Mitsuru. She was the other one who seemed to have recognized Naoya when he arrived.

Aigis, for her part, enjoyed her new found freedom. Yukari tried to talk to her about her recovery, but there wasn't much to say. She was unconscious for most of it, save when Mitsuru-san came to brief her on Death's offer, and when Naoya was doing checks.

"He must be pretty important to you, huh?" Ken asked from across the table, cake around the edges of his mouth.

"Ten years ago, Naoya-san was one of the people who helped build me. Now he returned to save my life. I can say that is true. He is almost like a father to me."

Naoya interrupted. "Hold on, you said your name was Takeba? I knew a man by that name when I worked for Mitsuru's grandfather."

"That was my father." Yukari admitted.

"Ah! Well, in that case, I have good news, bad news and worse news for you." Naoya leaned forward in his seat. "The good news is that he was a great and brilliant man. Make no mistake, I've seen my fair share of geniuses, and I would place him with the best. You should be proud to be his daughter."

Yukari shuffled at the memories of the poor father that left her and her mother alone. "I am."

"Ah, good. Family is always good. My brother may or may not still hate me, but that's a different story entirely. Anyways, the bad news is that your father got involved in our Friday night poker games. Man had a horrible, horrible poker face." Naoya spun his lie, one aimed at children rather than the longer plans against those he would truly manipulate.

Yukari seemed confused. Naoya pressed on. "Now, here's the worst news. One night, he was in really deep. I mean, completely owing the rest of us millions of yen. While normally this would just be laughed off in the morning as we usually did, that night, he had a bit too much to drink, so he put something that he shouldn't have on the table." A beat to make sure he had everyone's attention, then he said his next line with all the prefect seriousness of the best of politicians the world over.

"He put your hand in marriage up. And I won the hand."

"WHAT?!" Yukari screeched loud enough to cause Koromaru to wince in pain. "HE...! HE...!"

Naoya laughed hard, enjoying the reaction. "Oh! That was priceless! The look on your face! And your boyfriend's!" The wad to death glares fired back at him caused him to choke back a bit on his next laugh. "Sorry. Just had too. I'm on something of an enforced vacation at the moment, and well, there was poker night, and your father was bad at it. But nothing like that. Seriously!"

Yukari glared, then turned away from him with all the angry body language a teenaged girl could possess. Even Aigis was torn between her desire to act in concert with Yukari and her desire to appreciate the work of the man who saved her and gave her back her life.

"Alright, I admit, that wasn't my best work." Naoya offered as his way of apology. But for now, it looks like President Kirijo and that young man want to have words with me."

Fuuka offered Yukari a comforting hand as Naoya stood up to follow Mitsuru and Minato away.

And then Midori sat down in an empty seat, a large slice of cake on her plate. "What?" She demanded, looking around at the people who were concerned with her well being. "I know who he is, and I hate him. Cake will help." And so she took a very large bite to prove it.

**4****th**** Floor, Command Room**

The door closed behind him, and Naoya looked at the two children before him with a bemused expression. "Children, playing at adults. Oh, how the world has changed. Or is it children playing at heroes?"

"Midori knows you from Tokyo." Minato opened with something he hoped would put Naoya off balance. It didn't work.

"Oh, does she now? How, pray tell would she know that?"

Mitsuru put the facts together faster than Minato had. "You aided the Shomankai...!"

Naoya thought even faster. "Oh! I thought her name was Dolly! Purple dress, yelling about Love and Justice! She was hanging out with my cousin." His voice and body language became dismissive. "I barely gave her a second glance. He must have told her horror stories about me."

"You stole from my Father!" Mitsuru felt her anger chill her. "Did you have anything to do with Ikutsuki's madness?"

Giving them a disbelieving look, Naoya grinned. "Ikutsuki was a hack, pure and simple. The little shithead couldn't science his way out of a box with written instructions. What did he do with _my_ work?"

Mitsuru wasn't expecting that, but recovered as he spoke. "He murdered my father and almost killed the rest of us. We survived only through luck, and my father's sacrifice."

Naoya's voice dropped to perfect seriousness. "Then you have my sincerest condolences at your loss. Shuji Ikutsuki does not deserve any words of grief or remorse. Your father does."

"Thank you." Mitsuru said automatically, Naoya's words ringing sincerity in her ears. "But that doesn't explain your actions."

Naoya shrugged. "What is there to explain. I did work with your family many years ago, I did work for the Shomankai fools. That their goals had certain similarities only made my job easier."

"Personas?" Minato asked.

"What? Oh, of course not. The Shomankai had never heard of them. They thought they were going to summon a Demon to act as their God!" The kimono-wearing man poured vile into his words. "They were fools."

"What does that have to do with how Midori knows you?"

"Oh, that's simple. I gave my cousin the means to defend himself from the Shomankai, and he shared it with his friends. She was one of them."

"You're lying," Mitsuru accused.

"Of course I am!" Naoya admitted gladly. "But you won't know about what for a long time, if ever. I bury my secrets far deeper that you ever could."

Minato grumbled. "Are you going to affect SEES?"

"I already have! I returned little Aigis to you, safe and sound. With a few improvements even!"

The two leaders of SEES avoided the obvious response. "That doesn't answer the question."

"Of course not. But what you do have is my word that I'm not going to interfere with your little thing any more than I already have. As I've said before, I'm on an enforced vacation, and I'm thinking I'd like to enjoy it." With that, he turned and walked out the door, headed for the stairs down.

Standing there, feeling like they had been dismissed, Minato finally asked, "Wasn't that door locked?"

**1****st**** Floor Lounge**

Naoya descended with a flourish. "So sorry about that. Business that needed taking care of, the usual stuff." He saw the girl that knew of him from the summer incident. "Now, my dear Midori, or was it Dolly? I can't remember. Anyways, it seems like I owe you an apology. Would you like to step out onto the front step for a second?"

Midori froze. That wasn't like the man she had encountered before. Not during the lockdown. A glance at Akihiko and Aigis, both of whom nodded, but for different reasons. Aigis trusted Naoya, while Akihiko was ready in case something bad happened.

Taking a deep breath, she stood and walked towards the front door. Time to face her fears head on, like she should have from the start.

They stood outside, the door open a crack to let the warm air from inside heat them up a little, as well as to let those inside know that everything was alright.

Naoya held up a hand. "I think I know what you want to say. What you want to accuse me of doing. Let me say this first. The Ordeal was going to happen, no matter what. I didn't invent the Program. I did make it work. But I didn't hand out COMPs to anyone except Abel and his two friends, nor did I tell people to start doing what they did."

"Aren't you then guilty by association?" She really wanted to deck him on principle, but no matter the villainy, she had to let them say their peace before punching their lights out. It was only proper.

"Girl, please don't play word games with me. I'm far older than I look. Tell me, what would you have done if Atsuro couldn't have unlocked my code? By his own admissions, he said that only he could. I recognized that..."

"But you wanted him to be King, to take war to Heaven!"

Both people stopped and looked back into the Dorm, seeing that no one was listening before speaking again.

"I admit to that, yes. However, I have also come to the conclusion that my cousin's answer to the Ordeal was just as effective as mine, even though it was different."

"What." This, she wasn't expecting to hear. Villains weren't supposed to confess to their crimes just like that! They needed to fight to the bitter end so she could be justified in hurting them!

"You see, his choice to send them away actually wasn't accounted for by the Council. They thought that they would be used, or that they would come to power. They did not anticipate a result where Humanity would try to stand on their own. It was an elegant answer that even I did not foresee."

"Why tell me this?" Midori demanded of the First Murderer.

"Because he won't listen to me. He deletes my e-mails, he doesn't talk to me." He rolled one hand in the air to indicate that it was a constant issue. "You're the first person he knows and trusts whose as actually given me a chance to make my case."

Midori didn't know what to make of that. "Then why me?"

"Because Abel trusts you. And if you talk to him, maybe I can too. Try to make things right."

That she could do. There was no way she couldn't. Except... "He's not answering my e-mails either. I sent him an e-mail like three weeks ago, and he didn't reply."

"Oh? About what?"

"About Ny...! No. I'm not supposed to say." She turned away to hide her shame.

"It's alright. You can tell me. I know about these things." His voice was gentle and commanding at the same time.

"N.. N.." Her thoughts returned to Aigis. He had to know, didn't he? Didn't even Naoya have the right to know if he was in danger? "Nyx. I asked him about Nyx."

Naoya thought. "Oh, dear child. Nyx isn't something my cousin can deal with. Nyx is.. different. It is a resident of that Shadow Hour, and as such, lay outside the purview of both my cousin and the Council."

"Then do something! If he sees you helping, he'll listen to you!"

"That won't work!" Naoya raised his voice a notch. "Nyx is not something that can be beaten by Angels or Demons, but by the hands of Man alone! To call upon his power would be to deny the works of man, to invalidate everything he worked for, everything you worked for! Is that what you want? To hand everyone's souls over to the Council?"

Midori froze. "No" she finally whimpered.

Naoya reigned in his emotions. "I apologize. I worked very hard to see that humanity does not fall prey to those who would abuse them. I cannot help, but I will not hinder you either."

"Thank you. I think."

"Very well then. Shall we return inside? It is warmer in there."

So they did.

As the evening came to a close, Naoya finally announced that he was ready to leave. Polite thanks were given, and when it was Midori's turn, she bowed, promising to try and contact his cousin on his behalf.

The card with Black Frost on it slid out of her pocket, landing on the floor. Naoya was a bit faster in scooping it up and inspected it closely. "Ah, Igor's work. Always nice to appreciate the work of a Master. When you next see him, do say "Hello" for me, will you?"

Chidori however saw the truth. To her mind's eye, when the card left Midori's possession, she lost her Persona. When Naoya picket it up, he gained a persona, and then when the card was returned, Midori returned to her normal self.

The Persona was the Card.

And that was impossible.


	22. 31 Dec 2009 to 02 Jan 2010

**31 December 2009**

**Minatodai Dorm, 3rd Floor**

**Afternoon**

The dorm was pretty much empty, Chidori checked one last time to be sure. Even Koromaru was out with the boy. Leaving her alone was what they were comfortable doing - despite her assistance in Tartarus, she was still essentially a prisoner in the building.

She wanted to break into Midori's room to get at that card, to examine it for herself. She wasn't sure why she wanted to do it beyond curiosity, but there was also a sense of _wrongness_ about the whole thing that she just couldn't shake.

But in the end, there were two reasons that stopped her. First was that Midori was very careful, if not outright paranoid about keeping the card on her at all times, especially after it slipped from her dress last night. Secondly, breaking into the room of someone else was enough to get her thrown into a proper jail cell, and not this gilded cage.

Oh, how she wished Junpei was here to do these things, or to simply offer his ear to her needs. He would make things so much easier.

Instead, she had decided to talk to Minato about this, given his leadership position. But this was also the day that Death was return, and they would have to deal with the repercussions of their actions. There was a certain enormity to their situation was had rapidly grown on them this day as the knowledge that they were out of time was made manifest.

She had chosen to ignore it. So long as she focused on the warmth in her heart, and for every day she lived past her death, she could ignore Death and all his ramblings. She wouldn't die. She couldn't. What would Junpei think if he did?

**1****st**** Floor Lounge**

**Evening**

One moment he was there, then the next he was. Ryoji sat at the head chair and looked at the assembled faces. He was spotted, and a sudden tenseness rippled through the room. "Hello" he said to reintroduce himself. "Are you ready?"

Minato stood. "Yes. Would you mind giving us a moment?"

"Of course. I'll be on the roof.' Ryoji vanished as quickly and as completely as he arrived.

Taking a deep breath that came out ragged, Minato looked around the table, meeting the eyes of each member of SEES. From the eager joy of Midori to the calm and collected determination of Mitsuru, he found what he was looking for. "I think I know what we're all going to say, but please, say it now. For the record."

First to his left was Yukari, sitting so close to him for support and warmth. She nodded, clearly afraid that they were dooming themselves to their fate. "Do it."

Ken. "I refuse to back down."

Koromaru simply barked, Aigis translating his agreement. "He does not wish to forget. Nor do I."

Midori. "FIGHT! FIGHT!"

Mitsuru. "I see no alternative."

Fuuka shook her head. "You're my friends. I won't forget you."

Akihiko. "Who am I to argue?" A smirk crossed his lips.

Finally, Chidori. She looked down into her lap, where Junpei's cap rested. "I would not forget him for anything. Damn the world; this is mine. And if I must fight to give it another day so that I can remember him for another day, so be it."

They were in agreement. Time to kick start the end of the world.

**4****th**** Floor, Roof**

Minato made sure the door was unlocked behind him. Trapped on the roof once was once too many in his view.

"Hello, Ryoji-san" he said to the back of the Eldritch aspect. He walked over to where he was standing on the edge of the roof, looking up at the cloudy sky. "No moon tonight."

"No. I know what you intend to do, but I have to ask you; please kill me." There was a note of pleading in his voice, all to human.

"You know we can't."

"But you must!" Ryoji didn't look at his former host. "There is so much wrong with the world, and the peace of Nyx will alleviate that. How can you let the suffering of people last? Even though you know you cannot win?"

"We have to win." Minato looked down at the gap between this building and the next. "No, we have to fight. We have to prove to ourselves that not everyone will give into apathy and despair."

"I... don't think I understand."

"It's because we are human. We look at the challenges in front of us, and some buckle, some maintain themselves, while a few select overcome. We have to overcome to protect those who cannot. We have to fight Nyx with the weapons that others do not have. We have to, because no one else can."

"Ah." Ryoji sighed, looking up into the clouds. "That's it then?"

"Yes."

"Very well. You have a month. On the last day of January, Nyx will descend upon Tartarus. That is where you must face her, before the Dark Hour ends and she is made real upon the world."

**1****st**** Floor Lounge**

A couple minutes later, Minato came back down. "It's done. Ryoji's gone, and the clock is ticking. Nyx descends to the top of Tartarus at the end of the month. Sunday, the 31st of January. We get there on that day, we get to meet with Ryoji – no, the Appraiser, one last time. We defeat him we can prevent Nyx from having a warm welcome.

"To that end, I am doing what should have been done two months ago. Hell, it almost happened anyways. As of this night, SEES no longer exists. I am formally dissolving it." He ignored the gasps from around him. "SEES' purpose was the extermination of Shadows. That, we've done. That chapter in our lives is over. We can't live like that, thinking of the wrong things. We have a certain goal, and SEES can't do that for us anymore. In its place, I am founding the NYX Annihilation Team.

"A simple name for a simple goal. Ascend Tartarus, and prevent The Fall by any means necessary."

He collapsed into the chair that Death had just recently occupied. "Get some rest. Our first stopping point is to deal with the Reaper."

**01 January 2010**

_HAPPY NEW YEAR!_

_It's Dolly, with her bestest camera-girl in the whole world, Fuuka!_

_Today, I have some great news for you all. You know how one of my roomies, someone who was also in the lockdown, had a relapse from all that icky chemicals put into the water and stuff? Well, she's finally better and back at the dorm!_

_Today, I can't tell you how much energy I have!_

_Oh? Do you like my kimono? I made it special! Me and the rest of the girls in the Dorm are going up to the shrine today! Aigis needs some fresh air after all that time in the hospital. And to make our New Years Wish!_

_Which shrine?_

_I'm – not – tell ~ ing!_

_All you boys will just have to look!_

_Bye-bye for now!_

**Naganaki Shrine**

**Daytime**

Blue, Red, Pink, Purple, Black, White. Those were the colours that walked as a group through the small festivities in the Shrine. Chidori shifted uncomfortably in her kimono, causing Mitsuru to issue an impromptu reminder about how to walk around in one. "I don't see the purpose in this." the red-haired girl glared.

"It's because we're friends!" Midori spoke up as she hopped from one foot to the other to keep the blood flowing. "And friends do this sort of thing."

"We're not friends! Just.. acquaintances."

"I do not believe that to be true." Aigis said as she examined her own dress, kicking her foot out from under the hem. She had feet now! Feet for actual walking in! Toes! It was amazing! And with a bit of preparation, or at least a good pair of leggings, she could start to participate in gym activities! "If you were not our friend, you would not have come."

"I almost didn't."

"But you did!" Midori said, pulling the resisting Chidori a bit closer. "And we're so happy for you! You need to get out a bit more! Get some sun!"

"But it's January..." Fuuka tried to point out, only for Yukari to shake her head.

"Midori's in her little place now. Where normal people can't go." She looked around, and happened to spot some new arrivals. "And there's Minato! I've got to get his opinion on my kimono!"

Fuuka watched Yukari rush over to the new arrivals, waving all the while. "Sure. Midori is the one where normal people can't go." Maybe she should do that fish-catching game while waiting for everyone else to sort things out.

She was startled when a tug came on the hem of her kimono. She turned to see Ken looking up at her, Koromaru by his side. Kneeling, she asked Ken what he wanted.

"Those guys over there", a gesture to a trio of Gekkoukan students, all of whom looked like they were in their first or second year, "told me that girls don't wear anything under their kimonos. Is that true?" The line was delivered with perfect innocence, and for a moment, Fuuka forgot that this boy went into the Dark Hour to fight Shadows with the rest of them.

Then her face turned crimson at the implications. "Mitsuru-senpai? Can you come over here for a moment."

A few minutes later, three very chastised and "EXECUTION!" 'd high school boys left the Shrine grounds, rushing past Akihiko, who could only wince in sympathy.

Chidori actually enjoyed herself. Well, as much as she could considering she could just [i]feel[/i] his absence. She had spent her time between stalls plotting out her next couple days as best she could. First, she would have to separate Midori from her false-Persona, then prove it to Minato.

But why?

She grappled hard with that question. Yes, Minato wanted to know if there was something wrong with Midori, but was this wrong? It was... different, but then again, so was she. No one else showed any capacity to use their Persona outside the Dark Hour save her, and if Midori had a card instead of... whatever it was Personas were made of.

Maybe she needed to come at this from a different angle. Not treat Midori like she was hostile. Like she was... a friend?

**Tartarus, Lobby**

**The Dark Hour**

They had changed into their working clothes, Midori apologizing profusely for not having new armbands for everyone prepared. Minato forgave her, and asked her to take her time to do them properly. They had thirty days to go. No need to rush out a bad product.

Minato had given out everyone's assignments. They were to rotate around to train up as much as they can as they went through the newly opened Block of Tartarus. For fairness sake, they drew lots for teams, and Chidori was pleased when she didn't wind up with Midori. That would have made things very awkward.

Once it was her turn with Minato (and Akihiko and Ken), she took the moment to explain to him in whispered tones what she had figured out.

"And you didn't tell me this earlier, why?" He asked back, accusingly.

"Death was coming the next night, and you needed to focus on that."

"Well then, what do you propose we do about it?"

"I've thought about that. The best way, I think, would be to talk to her."

"She'll just lie. She's done that a lot whenever someone talks to her about certain things."

"Then there is another plan. But I will need your permission."

**02 January 2010**

**Minatodai Dorm, 3rd Floor, Akihiko's Room**

**Afternoon**

Chidori knocked on the open door. Inside, Akihiko was running Midori through her exercises. The patient teacher learning the ropes on a barely-willing student.

"I'm supposed to collect the laundry today," she said as a Persona-less Midori went up and down on some exotic equipment that was supposed to increase her stamina and staying power. "Can I go into your room?"

Midori, unsuspecting, paused in her efforts. "Sure. Door's unlocked."

**4****th**** Floor, Control Room**

Mitsuru was surprised when it was Chidori who was the third member of this meeting that Minato called. "Is this about Strega?"

"No." Minato said flatly, and began to explain all the things that had occurred to cause people to think Midori was weird. He talked about how, when taken point by point, they could all be rationalized away, except when taken together...

"This." Chidori said, putting the Black Frost card on the table between the three of them. "I picked it up, and I _knew_ I could summon forth her Persona."

"You stole from her?" Mitsuru still wasn't able to grasp such a fundamental shift in the way she knew Persona's worked, so instead she focused on the more immediate concern.

"Of course not!" Chidori bristled at the expected accusation. "I got permission to collect dirty laundry, and this was in it. It was an innocent mistake. Honest."

Minato picked up the card, and focused on it for a moment before slamming it down. "That's no persona." His face started to be covered in sweat. "There's something else in there."

"Let me see. We should get Fuuka to look at this. Juno is better than Helios or I at sensing things." Mitsuru picked up the Card and...

Something fundamentally inhuman, something she could only describe as _demonic_ assaulted her senses. She threw the card onto the table as though stung.

"WHAT? What was that?" Mitsuru looked with wide eyes at the other two humans. "We need Midori in here. Now. Get Aigis and Akihiko too. And Fuuka. It's about time we got some answers from her."


	23. 02 Jan 2010 to 15 Jan 2010

**02 January 2010  
****Naganaki Shrine  
****Afternoon****  
**

She sat at the top of the slide, shivering. Whether it was from the cold, or her emotions, she couldn't guess. But her bodily condition was furthest from her mind.

_"I QUIT!"_

The words she never thought she'd hear herself say shook her to the core, giving her another shiver up and down her spine. The shock of each and every last echo as they rounded through her head destroyed any attempt to overcome them. Every chance she had to escape the loathing escaped her.

_"GIVE HIM BACK!"_

They had stolen from her! And not just anything, they took FROSTY! She took Frosty and demanded answers, said she wouldn't take any more lies and half-truths! She wouldn't listen at all!

And her hatred for Mitsuru only grew with each word.

"Hey." The gentle voice broke into her thoughts only after the third or fourth try. She looked around for the source long enough for a jacket to fly into her face. Struggling to remove it, she knew it was Akihko who was there, as was Koromaru, leash in the man's pocket. "Better put that on before you get sick. You're not an idiot, so you can still catch a cold."

"Wouldn't you like that." She sniffled even as she did what she was told. "Only one more reason to kick me out. Is that why you're here? To tell me to pack my things?"

_"I'm NOT LYING! I just CAN'T TELL YOU!"_

"No. No, I'm not" Akihiko tried to sound reassuring. "For what it's worth, I think that Mitsuru and Minato screwed up. There's no gentle way to say this, no excuse for their actions either, but they were and still are in the wrong." He looked down at Koromaru, who had made no move to get up to the distressed girl. "When I left, Fuuka and Yukari were both still yelling at the both of them." he huffed. "Never thought I'd hear Yamagishi raise her voice like that."

"Then why are you here?"

"To talk. To hear what you want to say. Nothing more."

_"Explain this, Komaki-san!"_

"Go away." She muttered, helpless. Koromaru had finally decided that enough was enough and moved to ascend the slide, finally requiring Akihko's help to get to Midori.

"I can't." Akihiko shrugged. "I can't just leave you like this. For better or for worse, people know that you don't have a Persona that matches anything we've seen before." _"You're a faker! How? Why? Who sent you?"_ Akihiko paused to let some workers move supplies from the festival past without being overheard.

"So what?" Midori pulled Koromaru a bit closer, enjoying the warm body against hers. She had gone into that meeting without having time to change out of her exercise clothes and now the cold air was taking its toll on her unprotected body.

"Well, for starters, you're welcome to come home. I can assure you that by the time you get there, those two will be ready to apologize to you."

"They forced Chidori to help them! How can I forgive them? That's not what Heroes do!" She started to cry again, but she was almost out of tears.

Akihiko searched for the right words. "Everyone makes mistakes," he finally admitted. "Theirs, in doing what they did, ambushing you like that, violating your privacy." _"I have a right to know!"_

"I WANT HIM BACK!" Midori yelled, causing Koromaru to wince in pain. "Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to hurt you." She soothed down the fur of the dog, not wanting to take out her anger on the wrong target.

Akihiko produced the Black Frost card from another pocket. "Here. It's yours, no matter what someone else says."

Midori reached out, hand quivering in fear that he might snatch it back from her, a final taunt. But her fingertips touched the precious blue card, and she was able to snatch it away from Akihiko, placing close to her heart. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Can I come up there? Not much room, but I can stand on the steps, and we don't have to talk so loud."

Midori nodded, and shuffled to allow Akihiko to climb. "Do you hate me? For lying?"

He shook his head. "No. Disappointed, of course, but I can understand why, so I won't act on my feelings."

She buried her head in her arms, Koromaru looking at her with those sad eyes of his. "That's not much better." _"I'm disappointed in you."_

"No, I apologize. I should watch my words more carefully." Akihiko shifted to look at the surroundings. "What is it? Really?"

"I... Igor did it."

"Igor? Who is that?"

Midori shook her head. "Minato tried to tell you about him, but you didn't believe him. Why should you believe me now?"

Akihiko tried to remember what she was implying, but nothing came to mind. He confessed his failure. "Tell me anyways, and I'll apologize to Minato later."

"Igor deals with Personas. He's not human." She finally had a chance to put her experiences and feelings where the long-nosed person was concerned. "He has a couple helpers, Elizabeth and Theodore. He works with someone name Philemon, but I don't know much about him."

Akihiko took all this new information in stride. "And?"

"After I summoned Frosty to defend me against the Hermit, Igor told Minato to bring me to him. He took Frosty, and combined him with my power to produce that Persona you see. He's bound to the card. I have to destroy it to summon him, and unsummoning restores the card." She held the object in question in her hand. "The Card _is_ Frosty. Anyone with the power can use him, I think."

This was well over his head now, and Akihiko could only begin to sort out his feelings and reactions. "Well then, let me tell you what we figured out about you before this evening. Just so you now what secrets you still need to hide, and which ones you don't. It's a theory that we've spent months building."

Midori looked at him with wide and fearful eyes, hoping beyond hope he didn't know all the truth.

"We know that the Shomankai Cult got a hold of Dark Hour technology through believers in the Kirijo Group, not to mention outright theft. We know that during the Lockdown that there were reports of 'Demons' and 'Angels' and 'Gods'. We know that you were there, and you have Black Frost." He forced himself to use the full name of her Persona, not the more casual 'Frosty'.

"We think that the Shomankai were trying to gain Persona users for their own ends, and the Lockdown was part of that plan. And it backfired. You were one of the people affected by the chemicals and other toxins in the environment. Your scarring is proof enough of that.

"Over the seven days you and your friends survived, you used your Persona extensively, much like Fuuka used hers while trapped in Tartarus.

"The SDF, through their Kirijo Group connections knew better than to fight Personas, especially rampant ones. Though I'm surprised that you were able to summon them outside the Dark Hour, though at this point I'm just going to assume that you can.

"Does that Naoya man know more than he's letting on? No, stupid question. Of course he does."

"I don't know what happened, all the details. But I think I have the broad strokes picture. There was a massive coverup, and you're part of it. That's why you don't talk about anything. You promised. And I know you keep your promises."

Midori was stunned into silence. So close! Yet so wrong!

"Actually, I think I will. It will be a nice turnaround. Anyways, there's only one thing left. We knew Medea could manifest during the day, but it tried to kill Chidori. Did Black Frost do the same?"

"No. He would never hurt me. We're friends." She thought a little more, and decided to expand the lie just a little bit. Midori looked down at the Card in her hands. Would it be alright? Would she be breaking her promises? Searching her memory, the answer was no. The Demons stayed on their side of the veil, and Frosty wasn't the real Black Frost. And if it was already possible for Personas to appear in the real world?

"Frosty stared out as a simple Jack Frost. I met... found... whatever, on the... third day? Yes, I think that was it. So hard to remember. He became the Frosty I love on the sixth day." She closed her eyes, and focused on the card, and the image of Frosty. Smiling and waving happily, she knew that all she would have to do was reach out and make it real...

"Huh. You can come home any time you want." Akihiko pulled a cellphone from his pocket and tossed it to Midori. "See if one of your other friends can put up with you for the night if you want. But when you come home, Ken and I will return the favour and treat it like nothing happened."

Midori looked at the cell in her hand. "Hey, Akihiko-san?"

"Hrm?"

Midori took a shaky breath, realizing how close she was coming to breaking her promises. But in the end, she decided she would deal with them as they came. "Keisuke-kun had Yama, Judge of the Underworld. Kaido-san, his killer, had Pazuzu, King of the Wind. Amane-chan had Remiel, the Angel of Thunder. Mochizuki-sensei had Kresnik. I'm the only one left with that connection, I think. I don't want to lose it."

Akihiko took this confession in stride, knowing full well what this would do to Mitsuru's worldview. "It looks like I have some research to do." He turned, and left, leaving Midori and Koromaru behind.

**03 January 2010**  
**Residence of Chihiro Fushimi**  
**Morning**

The two classmates and friends went about the business of breakfast. Midori didn't have much on her, but thankfully the two girls were close enough in size that it didn't matter. Putting out the egg-on-rice for the both of them, the darker haired girl asked "Are you feeling better now?"

Midori nodded, accepting the meal and saying her prayers as well. "A bit."

"I can't believe that Mitsuru-senpai would act like that." On some level, she actually could, having been present when the President had come to her defence when the truth of the incident with the money had come out. She could be very scary and vindictive when she wanted to be.

When Midori had come to her door yesterday with Sanada-san in tow as her escort, she didn't know what to expect. Akihko had explained that Mitsuru and Midori had a rather large argument, and apologized for the inconvenience, but could Midori stay the night?

And when Akihiko Sanada asked something of you, you listened. Chihiro opened her door to her friend and after he was certain that she would be alright, Sanada left.

Privately, she wished that she could have gotten that level of personal attention from the third-year, but her romantic heart had to stay thumping in her chest, regardless of anything else.

She had tried to get details out of Midori, but she refused to share her secrets. But that was alright. She knew that if Midori was in the wrong, then Sanada-san would never have acted the way he did. But that then left the question of what Mirsuru-senpai did? The idea that the President could do something that would result in this was a severe shock to the system.

Chihiro resolved to ask about it after the next Student Council Meeting. If this was something that could adversely affect the image of President Kirijo, she needed to know, one way or the other.

**03 January 2010  
****Minatodai Dormitory  
****Evening**

"I'm back." Midori said as the door closed behind her.

"Welcome back."

Midori flopped into an open space around the table, thankful for the clean feeling she now had. She shared a polite greeting with both Fuuka and Yukari; the two girls smiled back, welcoming her without fanfare. Apparently, Akihiko's promise extended to the two of them as well.

"Ummm... Midori-chan?" Fuuka started to ask a question, but instead halted before she could do more than draw attention to herself.

"Before you ask anything, I do want to know if there's anything left over from supper." She patted her midsection. "Chihiro doesn't have much in the way of a lunch."

"Oh! I can get you something!" Fuuka beamed, setting own her laptop. "Come with me!" She took Midori's hands and led her to the kitchen. "I need the practice."

"Hey!" Midori said as she was practically dragged into the kitchen. "Wait a second! The only person here whose worst than you is me at cooking! Yukari~ii! Help me!"

Yukari looked up. "No."

**Kitchen**

Behind the dining room, Midori sat on the same stool she used when Shinjiro was trying to teach her. Watching as Fuuka prepared a light supper for practice, she finally broached the subject that Fuuka had tried earlier. "You had a question?"

"I don't know if I should." Fuuka muttered as she checked the eggs. "I mean, I don't know if you're still sore or not..."

"Fuuka-chan, I'm alright. I'm only angry at two people, and you're not one of them, or the other. Now ask before I feed you my cooking!"

"Do... do you need an Evoker?"

Midori blinked as she parsed the question. "Akihiko told you guys, huh?"

"Well, yes. It was part of his defence of you. I can't imagine what you went through."

Midori waved it off. "The short answer is no. Because of my... circumstances, and the nature of Frosty's existence in this world, all I really need is the Card for a stable summoning. I can do it without the card, but then bad things would happen."

"How bad?"

"Oh, you know. End of the World. Angels and Demons fighting for control of the universe. That sort of bad."

"Don't you think that's an exaggeration?"

_No!_ Midori thought as she shook her head. "Maybe. Just a little." She realized that she had forgotten something as well. "Did Akihiko-sensei talk to Minato yet?"

Fuuka paused in memory. "Yes, I think so. Privately, you mean?"

Midori nodded. "I said some things that he wanted to check out with him, and so I thought maybe it had happened already."

"I think it did."

"Ah, good."

Minutes passed, and Midori found herself with a simple supper in front of her. Poking at it gently with the chop sticks didn't produce a lethal reaction, so she decided it was safe for human consumption. Or at least wouldn't kill her long enough to get her to a hospital.

She took a bite and didn't fall over into a comatose state. "Well, it's not anything I'd call _Mystery Food _**X**, so I suppose it's a pass."

Fuuka beamed.

**4****th**** Floor, Control Room**

Midori knocked, and was allowed in. She saw Chidori and Mitsuru sitting down reading, though their subjects were different. One was a book of business practices, the other a book on fashion. "Aigis said you wanted to see me?"

Mitsuru put down her book. "Yoshino-san. Would you mind giving us some privacy?"

Chidori left without saying a word, taking her book with her. Mitsuru waited for the door to close before she motioned for Midori to take a seat. Once she did, the young woman took a deep breath. "I... apologize."

Midori raised her eyebrows, encouraging Mitsuru to keep talking.

"I was told that I was... No, I was out of line. My questioning should have been handled in a more appropriate venue, and I acted without access to all the information."

"Akihiko-senpai told you to apologize, didn't he?"

Mitsuru nodded. "Yes."

"You're very bad at it."

"What do you mean? I've been preparing this since last night."

Midori considered how to best say this. "You're treating this like some formal thing. It's obvious you've been practising this, it's just so stiff. That may be good for in a business meeting, but last I checked, you don't pay me anything. I volunteered to join SEES and the Annihilation Team, my outburst retracted of course. Talk to me like a person, not an employee."

Sitting down, Mitsuru thought over how to change her approach to this apology. Akihiko had been quite adamant that she do this properly, but until Midori carelessly shot her down. She had no frame of reference for deducing this sort of behaviour as she was always raised inside the Kirijo Group, where ones relationship to everyone else was set firm. To deal with something like what Midori required was...

She never noticed when Midori got up to leave her to her thoughts, leaving her Evoker behind.

**4****th**** Floor sitting Area**

"How did it go?" Chidori asked without looking up from her book. "I presume you are one of the Team again?"

"Oh, she tried to apologize. But I left her trying to figure out how to say it. I think I'll let her stew in it for a couple days before making things better for her."

"How petty."

Midori sat down across from Chidori. "Did I miss anything? Akihiko is out, and Aigis was leaving with Minato, else I would have asked her."

"And you didn't ask the others?"

"I wanted to ask you! Is it wrong of me to talk to my friends, to catch up?"

"I repeat then, why didn't you ask any of the others?"

"You're a hard nut to crack, you know that?"

Chidori grunted, then turned her nose back to her book. She may have smiled at the attention she was getting, but no one would ever know for sure.

**07 January 2010**

**Minatodai Dormitory, 3rd Floor, Midori's Room**

**Evening**

Minato had tried to apologize, but had been stonewalled by Midori, who simply refused to recognize that he existed. It was almost as bad for Mitsuru. She hadn't _wanted_ to listen to his fumbled attempts to apologize, and had instead told him that until he came up with something appropriate, he could consider that she wouldn't be going to Tartarus.

It was selfish and petty, and he knew he deserved every last minute of it. His only consolation was that she would choose to assist in saving the world more than she would choose to hold a teenage grudge against him.

But the reality of her action didn't set in until the night previous, when she didn't come with them into the Dark Hour. The lack of her supporting morale, her infectious desires – especially with Junpei gone – made everything just a little bit harder, a little bit more tiring than it should have been.

It didn't help any that Igor refused to reveal the presence of the Velvet Room to anyone else.

No, he was knocking on her door, trying to entice her into coming out and accepting his sincerest apology.

**Paulowina Mall, Central Concourse**

"WHAT?!" Midori pressed her hands against the glass case holding various announcements, causing Aigis to pause and look back at her.

"Is there a problem? Were we not headed to Mandagora for vocal training?"

Midori pointed to a sheet of paper, and Aigis examined it for any clues as to her choice of words and actions. "D-VA is playing in Club Escapade in two weeks! I've got to get tickets!"

Aigis processed this with her new outlook. "I've never been to a concert before. Are they good?"

"Good?" Midori looked aghast. "GOOD? I know the lead singer of that band! She's awesome!" She froze. "I can get free tickets...!" Abandoning all sense of decorum, she whipped out her COMP and began to madly type with the stylus and touchpad. A few moments later, she clamped it shut, a smile on her face. "There! All done! Now we can sing!"

**Tokyo, Eiji's Bar**

Gin saw that there was an e-mail waiting on his COMP, the audio ring tone quiet as he worked a slow night of cleaning glasses. Bored, he flipped it open to see if it was from Haru or someone else.

_FROM: DOLLY_

_TO: GIN_

_RE: D-VA TIX_

_Hey Gin! It's Midori! ^_^ Are you fine? Cld u tell Haru-san I liv in Port Island nd wld LOVE som tix to her concrt l8r this mnth? plzplzplz! thnx! iluvu bai!_

After spending a minute translating her text into actual words, he shook his head. He hadn't heard from her in a while, and now she wanted tickets? Well, the poor girl did have to move away right after the Lockdown was lifted, and he and her never really connected. But still, it wouldn't be right to turn away a request like that. He decided to forward the message, and to make a reply of his own.

_FROM: GIN_

_TO: DOLLY_

_RE: D-VA Tickets_

_Hello again, Midori-chan. Haru isn't in right now, the band and her are on tour, although I suppose you know that now. I'll let her know you're interested. Send me your address, and I'll pass it along to her so she can send you a ticket or two (but no more, she's doing small venues for now to build back up her career). I'm doing fine, business is back to normal. How is school? You made lots of new friends yet?_

**Paulowina Mall, Mandagora**

"Hey Aigis, wanna go to a concert later?" Midori rapidly typed onto her COMP as the two of them waited in line for a booth, letting Gin know the information he wanted. "And do you have a family name?"

"Yes, and No. Why?"

**12 January 2010**

**Duck Burger, Iwatodai Mall**

**After School**

Minato nearly dropped the food from his mouth as he, Mitsuru and Aigis watched the television that hung from one corner of the crowded store. On it, Takaya was now preaching the Fall as a joyous thing to behold, one where all worries would vanish; that the Lost were already blessed.

It made his blood boil to see the murderer out and about. "How did he get out of Tartarus with out us noticing?"

Aigis evaluated the possibilities. "Fuuka-chan is not able to scan Tartarus constantly; it is likely that they left at the last moment of the Dark Hour to minimize the chances of detection. This, assumes of course, that both Jin and Takaya left Tartarus at the same time."

"Then we'll need a meeting tonight to plan out our response. Maybe this'll be enough to get Midori back in the game."

**Minatodai Dorm, 4****th**** Floor Control Room**

**Evening**

Explaining about the re-emergence of Strega took little time. Once they had grasped the enormity of the event, even Midori, true to Minato's prediction, set down her COMP to pay direct attention. Chidori appeared to be disturbed by the news as well. "I don't understand. Why would they do this?"

"Perhaps by encouraging people to embrace the Fall, they want to hasten its arrival?" Fuuka conjectured as she tapped away at her laptop. She was busy trying to find out more information about Takaya's cult, but wasn't having much success so far.

"I've seen all this before." Midori finally said. With the 'revelation' that the Tokyo Lockdown involved Personas, it was much easier for her to keep her lies order. "The Cultists tried to use communal belief to summon forth their 'god'." All she had to do was switch 'Demon' for 'Persona' and things just fell into place for the most part. "They succeeded on the last day, but it killed its summoner."

"A rampaging Persona." Akihiko nodded in understanding. "Sounds like the same plan, except that Nyx already exists. So that leaves us with our plan of action."

"I trust Ryoji when he said the Thirty-First." Minato shrugged. "I don't think Takaya can change that date any more than we can." He glanced at Midori. "I think we're almost ready to take on the Reaper. If I ask you to come along, will you?"

Midori couldn't object. "I've had enough time catching up my homework. Time to get back to being a hero!"

**Tartarus, Monad Block**

**The Dark Hour**

"So, this is Monad, the Basement of Tartarus." Midori looked around at the final block of the tower that replaced her school. "So, why did you want me on the Reaper hunting team?" She indicated Chidori and Koromaru who were with her and Minato.

"It's because you three have the best inherent resistances to face down The Reaper. I'll be acting in support of you all." Minato's plan was simple in design. Everyone on his chosen team had multiple resistances and few (if any) weaknesses. Hopefully this would allow them to avoid being completely overrun by the wandering Shadow.

Unlike with Midori, there would be no second chances against the Reaper.

**14 January 2010**

**Tartarus**

**The Dark Hour**

"Careful! I sense The Reaper!" Fuuka's voice echoed in their ears, causing Midori to grimace.

"Gee, thanks. Like the rattling chains that echo throughout the entire floor weren't enough warning." She had Frosty out and weapon in hand. Even though she was absolutely sure of victory, she knew that this wouldn't be an easy fight. Her unease was echoed with her Frosty, who bounced around, looking back and forth in a tense manner.

And then the Reaper was upon them, weapons blazing and battle was joined.

**Tartarus Lobby**

Minato came back through the teleporter carrying an unconscious Midori over his shoulders. "Akihiko! I thought you were making her tougher!"

The man so questioned came over and lifted her up. "We were. You were successful?"

Minato nodded, thankful for the relief from his burden, reaching into his pocket to produce a bloody button. "Yep."

Chidori took off her hat, wiping her brow. "You've been improving her ability to take hits? Seriously? When she was up, I can see why you'd want to keep her around, but to need help so often?" Her condescending tone of voice seemed more habitual than insulting. "Although she did manage to pull herself together that first time. I suppose that has to count for something." She took the opportunity to crash down on the steps, watching as Yukari revived Midori and Akihiko made sure there were no immediate after-effects. "Is this what a Full Moon Shadow hunt is like? I do not envy you at all."

Minato shook his head. "No, This was much harder."

Fuuka had to agree, having watched through the eyes of Juno as they fought against that horrid Shadow. "Does this mean you're going to see Mr. Igor now for the reward?"

Even if he didn't let them in, Midori's corroborating testimony had finally convinced the others that Igor was a real person. It seemed that they were more willing to accept the word of himself that there was more going on than met the eye. He was still worried about Erebus, but knew that was something they would have to confront when the time came, together.

**15 January 2010**

**Port Island Station**

**After School**

"Come! Attend to my words!" Midori and Chihiro almost walked past the crier for Takaya's cult of the Lost. Except the two classmates were stopped by another student of Gekkoukan High.

"The Fall has been Decided!" The older boy came up to them, an empty smile on his face. "I know you! You, you have seen the signs, have you not?" He pointed at Midori, who stopped, and delivered a glare that should have killed him if it was The Dark Hour. "Do not be afraid, the glory of The Fall will make all men equal!"

Chihiro tugged on Midori's sleeve. "Just ignore him. Let's go!"

Midori refused to budge. "Oh? Really? The signs? What do you know of signs, you ignorant fool?" She stepped towards him as much as Chihiro would allow. "Has the sky turned red? Has the world forsaken you and all the strangers around you? I'll tell you this, I've been here before. I was there when the founder of the Shomankai Cult got himself killed, and I'll be there when Takaya and Jin face Justice! You can tell them that yourself!"

Midori spun on her heel, leaving the startled Cultist behind. Chihiro looked back as Midori took the lead in stalking away. "Was that necessary?"

"Completely." Midori reached the stairs leading up to the monorail before slowing down. "I meant it. I've seen this sort of thing before and it only leads to tragedy. People who can't take their own fates into their hands, and trust in some vile creation of some madman and his insane plots to..." She felt a subtle tug on her, and stopped to look at Chihiro.

"You're very scary when you talk like that. Please stop." The Student Council Treasurer didn't take Midori's personal experience and vehemence well, despite the friendship they had. She knew that Midori refused to back down, but the lengths she would take it were excessive sometimes.

Midori looked back over Chihiro's shoulder. "Why people can't trust themselves, I have no idea. Are they so without Love that they can't even spare some for their own worth?"

Chihiro had no answer.

**Minatodai Dorm, 1****st**** Floor Lounge**

**Evening**

Midori related her encounter to those present. Apparently Mitsuru and Akihiko were doing last minute studying for their Collage Entrance exams (though why Mitsuru would bother, as she pretty much owned her own private Collage or University through the Kirijo Group like she owned her High School), and as such, they were too busy to listen in, or go to Tartarus that evening.

"You should have punched him, then told him to pass it along to Takaya."

Ken was surprised. "I didn't think you'd be so hostile to your former comrades, Chidori."

Chidori shook her head in the negative. "I see now that we were allies of their convenience. They needed my power, and gave me a false sense of purpose. I, with the power to create and give life, supporting the fall of Nyx, a harbinger of death? I cannot abide that."

Fuuka agreed. "I hope you don't think we're doing the same thing to you."

Dismissing the concern, Chidori replied "No, you are not. You are far more like family than anything else."

"So, does that make you the Aunt, or the older Sister?" Midori said, pondering the situation." I know Mitsuru and Akihiko-senpai have 'mother and father' locked right up. I claim the title of 'little sister', with Ken as 'little brother'!" She started to grin as she tried to slot every member of the Team into the stereotypical positions of a traditional 'family'.

"MIDORI!" Yukari yelled at her junior's comment. "That's not funny!"

"Yes it is!" Came the defence, and the argument was on, just like any normal evening.


	24. 19 Jan 2010 to 31 Jan 2010

**19 January 2010**

**Tartarus, Lobby**

**The Dark Hour**

They gathered by the entrance to Tartarus one last time. "That's it." Minato announced quietly. "We are the best we can be, if Fuuka, Chidori and Mitsuru are to be believed." He thanked each in turn. We have eleven more days until the Fall come upon us. We'll have one more rn through in a week for practice, then we rest until the thirty first. Until then, your time is your own."

It was a solemn moment. They all knew that further practice would be useless, but it would focus them and keep their nerves under control more than anything else. One by one, the Nyx Annihilation Team filed out of Tartarus, planning on leaving it far behind them when the Dark Hour ended.

**20 January 2010**

**Minatodai Dorm, 3rd Floor Lounge**

**Evening**

Ken came up the stairs, annoyed by the exertion. "We seriously need an intercom system installed" he complained. But upon seeing the person he was looking for, he straightened to deliver his message. "Midori-chan? There's an older woman at the door looking for you. She said her name is Yoshino Harusawa." Any further words he might have had were drowned out and swept away as the bluenette practically jumped out of her chair and dashed down the stairs at a completely unsafe speed.

"HAAAAARUUUUUUU-CHAAAAANNN!"

Yukari and Aigis looked at each other in surprise. "I think we had better check this out."

"Agreed."

**1****st**** Floor Lounge**

At the front door, Haru had enough time to recognize the warning signs of a running teenager – not to mention her name being called out in a recognizable voice. She waited long enough for Dolly to reach the bottom of the stairs and see her before raising a hand and used her best 'speaking to the crowd' voice to command her to "Stop Running!"

Midori obliged by skidding to a halt, barely breathing hard from her mad dash. "Haru-chan! You came!" She quickly closed the remaining distance between the two at a more sedate pace. "Gin-san said you were going to send me tickets and I thought they were in the mail and I was going to e-mail him to ask what was happening with you and your concert coming and I...!"

The singer placed a hand on the young girls head. "Calm down! I got the e-mail alright. I just decided to give them to you in person." She looked up from Midori to see the rest of the dorm gathered around. "Ah, you must be her friends." She bowed. "I apologize for her behaviour. She can be quite the child when she wants to be."

Midori looked shocked and offended at the remark, just as Haru saw that the others recognized the joking barb for what it was. "Sorry kiddo. But I must say, I only have three tickets. I didn't bring enough for all your friends."

"My apologies," Mitsuru interrupted, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "How do you know Komaki-san?"

"Know her? Girl and her friends saved me a couple times that week in Tokyo. I think that's earned me a friendly relation with her." Haru patted Midori on the head a couple times to emphasize.

"Oh." Mitsuru made the immediate connection. "Once again, my apologies. Would you like to come in?" She gestured to the seats in the sitting area. "We can offer you some tea if you'd like."

Haru waved off the offer with a smile. "No, that's alright. My band got into town tonight, and this is a quick detour." She reached into her jacket pocket to produce a sealed envelope. "Here you go, three tickets. These are noted as being Band-guest tickets, so if you have any problems at the door, ask for me by my full name, not Haru. That'll get me coming."

Midori nodded, tears of joy beginning to fill up her face before she bowed low in thanks. "Thank you! I will treasure these!"

Haru laughed. "I'll see you on Saturday then. And dress appropriately!"

"I will!" She stayed bowed until Haru had left, closing the door behind her. Then she ripped open the envelope to reveal three tickets to D-VA's second night at Club Escapade. Then looked up at her nine friends. She could discount Ken and Koromaru immediately. That left one ticket for Aigis, and one for...

Mitsuru, Akihiko, Chidori, Minato, Yukari, Fuuka.

Oh, how was she going to chose?

A slightly worried grin came over her face. "So, um, anyone want to _not_ go to a concert?"

**22 January 2010**

**Paulowina Mall, Club Escapade**

**Evening**

Midori, Aigis and Akihiko stood in line. He had won the competition by default when everyone else made their excuses one way or the other. Mitsuru declined as it wasn't Noh, or an Opera. Fuuka said she listened to a couple singles that she had downloaded and it didn't appeal to her. Chidori didn't even express interest, while Minato and Yukari decided to head over to the Mandagora instead.

That left Akihiko, who was willing to try (almost) anything. Once.

Aigis was dressed in her school uniform, while Akihiko went with his stylish winter casual wear.

Midori simply rolled her eyes, knowing full well what she was getting into, and pulled on her old purple cosplay costume from Tokyo, with only the barest repairs made. This way, she would be easy for Haru to spot in the crown, and she could stand out in a way.

And apparently it still fit her perfectly. A fact that irritated her to no end over the previous day as she had expected to have grown _something_ out.

They didn't have any troubles with the tickets at the door, as Haru had let the bouncers know they were coming.

Once inside, Midori commented that this was the first time she had been back in here since the Rise concert back in September. "Thanks to that, I joined up with you guys! Who knows what I'd be doing now if it weren't for that!"

They had time to find some seats near the back and to grab some water to drink before the houselights came down and D-VA came on stage.

**Club Escapade, Backstage**

Harusawa finished introducing them to her fellow bandmates, then took the three to her private room. "Grab a seat" she said, though there wasn't much space to sit down for four people. "Did you enjoy the gig?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Midori was first to express her appreciation of Haru's music. "Reset and Song of Hope are awesome!" Haru smiled at the heartfelt compliment.

"I have to agree. Song of Hope is an excellent technical piece." Aigis added in her own tone of voice. "Your note composition shows that you did not use a conventional notation tool."

Midori muttered something about teaching Aigis how to compliment properly.

Haru, hearing only part of that, considered how to respond. "Technical piece? I suppose you could say that. I had to finish it up on a half-dead harmonizer in the middle of the Lock Down. I like to think of it as the song that saved us all from our worse natures."

Midori choked on her water, causing Haru and Akihiko to offer her some towels to clean up with. Haru smirking at the shared joke, while Akihiko was left wondering.

Time passed, friendly conversation was had, and signed swag was given away. Then the three returned to their dorm for the night, thanking Haru and her band for an enjoyable evening.

**Minatodai Dromitory, 2****nd**** Floor Sitting Area**

Mitsuru waited patiently for Akihiko to return from his evening trip escorting Aigis and Komaki. She heard them arrive, and ignored the two girls as they ascended another floor, chattering on about the music they heard. Midori was apparently counselling her senior in the finer points of the etiquette surrounding their trip.

Akihiko finally came up to her, having shed his heavier coat downstairs. "Waiting for me?"

"A bit. I checked with Chidori. She is unrelated to Yoshino Harusawa, despite the family name being the same and the hair colour." She stopped herself from saying more, recognizing that a more social questioning was now required. "How was your evening?"

"No one told me that D-VA was a rock group. I think I'm half-deaf." He settled into the chair opposite Mitsuru. "Past that, it wasn't bad. Yoshino-san has a good voice, and her band didn't try to break the set with noise. They played for their venue, which is always a good thing."

"I was told by Yamagishi-san that there is usually merchandise available. Don't tell me you spent money?"

"Nah." He produced a CD. "Nice thing about having a friend with a friend. Free stuff." He handed the disk to Mitsuru. "Here. Have a listen. Just keep the volume down." With that, he went to his room for a good night's sleep.

Mitsuru, curious, took the CD up to her room, and taking Akihiko's advice, used her headphones rather than the full sound system.

Twenty minutes later, she was in tears at the world she had never experienced before.

**23 January 2010**

**Minatodai Dormitory, 4th Floor**

**Morning**

Fuuka knocked on Mitsuru's door for the second time. It wasn't like her to ignore the first knock, and Fuuka had never had to do it a second time. "Maybe she's out already?" she muttered to herself, turning to head downstairs, eager to get breakfast in her before the long day ahead.

**Paulowina Mall, Main Concourse**

Mitsuru paced back and forth in front of the music store. After listening to the CD Akihiko had given her last night, she had gone through her collection for anything similar, but came up short.

Once again, she was confronted with practical and undeniable evidence that for all her advantages in life, her upbringing had left her woefully unprepared for things in the outside world. At first she thought that her trips to more commercial eateries were a well developed prank by Minato, but the evidence started to add up until finally it all came crashing down around her last night.

She had only seen a small portion of the world. A small portion defined by her and her father, and never had she tried to move outside it.

And she couldn't let Nyx or anyone else destroy it before she had a chance to see what really lay beyond her personal borders.

A small note attracted her attention on the door, and realizing that perhaps the proprietor of the store had left a message explaining why he wasn't open, she went to examine it closer.

_Saturday – 10AM to 9PM_

Shocked she barely registered that the hours meant that she would have to wait until after class to see what was available, and even more heinous, was that the services were not offered twenty-four hours a day!

**25 January 2010**

**Tartarus, Lobby**

**The Dark Hour**

They were just running in circles. With less than a week to go, they needed an outlet for their stress, and this was it. They would run themselves until they felt alright, then pack it in until Sunday, hopefully to face down Tartarus for the final time.

Midori fanned herself as she drank down a bottle of water, and checked her COMP one last time. Oddly enough, it said that there was a single message waiting for her. She was also quite certain that there wasn't any when the Dark Hour started, so perhaps the Babel Server had some lag issues going from the waking world into the Demon World then back into the Dark Hour?

Idly, she opened the message.

_FROM: A-BEL_

_TO: DOLLY_

_RE: NYX_

_Sorry, I can't help. I talked to Naoya as you asked, and he explained what was going on in that annoying and smug way of his. He said that all we could do was already done, a shield of some sort._

_I want to be there to help you out, but my hands are tied._

_I recall a quote from somewhere that explains my situation. "He who has all the power, has no choice."_

_Guess who has the power?_

Midori put down the COMP, working very hard to keep her face impassive. She really wanted his help to deal with Nyx, but if he can't, that just left them.

Well, that's alright! They were Heroes! And Heroes always win! Always!

Completely ignoring Midori's smiling face, Yukari went to talk with Aigis. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask, but how did your session with the school counsellor go? About your career and whatnot? I mean, asking an anti-shadow robot what it wants..." Her voice trailed off.

"I had been given opportunity to prepare a proper response for the teachers in that regard." Aigis said as she flexed her shoulders, testing to make sure functionality was fully restored after a lucky strike from a Zio using Shadow. "I simply told them that I wanted to repay the public trust that allowed me to survive the Tokyo Lockdown, and the teacher assumed I wanted to become a public servant."

Midori laughed. "Public Trust? Oh Aigis, never, ever, ever say that in front of anyone who was actually in the Lockdown. Please. For your sake, and ours." She shook her head sadly. "It's not that your faith is misplaced, given the public information, but we on the inside, we had to fend for ourselves for most of that week."

"Ah. I'm sorry. But that was the lie I was told to prepare." Aigis bowed in apology.

Midori accepted that. "It's alright. But, just, please, be more careful about what you say in the future. I mean, I know more than I should in this case, but others won't be so knowledgeable or understanding."

**30 January 2010**

**Minatodai Dormitory, 3rd Floor**

**Evening**

Midori bid Fuuka and Chidori a good night, then turned in for the evening herself. There was nothing left to say to anyone, no inspiring words (although she was certain to tell Minato to think of some. He was the leader after all).

All that was left were actions.

They would save the world (in two cases: again) or die trying.

**31 January 2010**

**Minatodai Dormitory, 1st Floor Kitchen**

**Morning**

Fuuka and Midori looked up above them as they prepared snacks for the assault on Tartarus that night. There were... sounds coming from the room above them.

"It's about time!" Midori said as she turned back to her rice, only to find the pot starting to burn. "Oh crap! Help me Fuuka!"

Burned rice was not on the menu for tonight.

**3****rd**** Floor, Chidori's Room**

**Afternoon**

She looked down at the clothes in her lap. While normally choosing what to wear wouldn't be an issue, this night was different. Tonight, the Nyx Annihilation Team would perform their final duty, and she had, for better or worse, committed herself to it.

And in the end, she had no choice at all. Putting on Junpei's baseball cap and winter jacket, she went out to face the day.

**Outside Gekko' High**

**5 minutes to Midnight**

They gathered there in silence, coming at their own times. Minato had only asked that everyone be there by then, that there was no need to arrive as a group. They would go in as one.

Midori looked around at her new friends of these past few months and dropped a shopping bag on the ground. "Everyone, take off your armbands" she commanded as she reached into the bag. "I've finished the new ones."

A minute later, a pile of red cloth was at her feet. From the bag she handed out new ones, brilliant gold cloth with silver lining and black lettering. Drawing inspiration from her aborted uniform designs, each had the English words "Nyx Annihilation Team" written on them. Above that was each person's name, and below, their Persona. She distributed them around, pinning hers on carefully, making sure that Black Frost's name was readable.

"There's two left..." Ken asked, already aware of what they were for. Midori nodded and pulled them out of the bag.

"It didn't feel right to leave them out" she said. The one in her right hand said simply _Iori Junpei / Hermes_, while the other was _Aragaki Shinjro / Castor_. "Does anyone want to carry them, or do I put them back in the bag?"

Akihiko reached out and took Shinji's armband. "I've got this one. Chidori, you want the other?"

Smiling through tears that she wasn't aware she was shedding, Chidori pulled Junpei's armband over her other arm, pinning it to his jacket.

"I think we're ready then." Minato looked around waiting for that last moment before the world lived or died. "It'll only be a momen..."

**The Dark Hour**

They ran.


	25. 31 Jan 2010

**31 January 2010**

**Tartarus, 254th Floor**

**The Dark Hour**

Midori walked backwards in her position as team rearguard for this floor. "So, um, Fuuka? How is your first trip upstairs?"

"It's not." Fuuka countered. "This is my second time outside the Lobby. I was trapped in the Gym when I first entered Tartarus..." She paused. "Wait. This was all in the reports I gave you when you joined. Don't you remember them?"

"Nope!" Midori spun around to face forward again. "I figured I'd learn everything I needed to know through experience. I pretty much ignored all the stuffy and boring details."

"I spent eleven hours in Tartarus, the same in days in the real world!" Fuuka felt offended that her ordeal was made so little of. Then she remembered that Midori had spent five days out of the seven of the Lockdown with a constantly active Persona, and in retrospect, a mere eleven hours must not have seemed like a lot. "We can talk about that later."

"That's a horrible study method, although that would explain your marks." Mitsuru commented back from the head of the line, Minato right behind her.

"Hey! It was my idea to drag Fuuka up with us!" Midori shot back. "I made that suggestion _months_ ago! I'm doing something right!" They approached the next set of stairs, eager to distract Mitsuru away from the subject of studying and marks and reading of reports and what not. She hated writing those out.

"..." Mitsuru couldn't argue with that idea. "These are extraordinary circumstances, Komaki. Otherwise she would still be downstairs in the Lobby." There was a hint that she didn't want to admit to Midori's contribution in her voice, or that it strained her to admit to it.

Fuuka decided to distract the impending stress by looking above them with Juno's senses.

"Strega," she said firmly, "is above us. But only one. The lesser of the two. Takaya is higher up still." She looked down. "And all the Shadows are below us. They're still coming up." She hoped they would stay ahead of them mindless drones as they too ascended to meet Nyx.

Everyone paused at the foot of the stairs, Strega, not the Shadows on their mind. "Do we try to talk them down?" Yukari asked, feeling the apprehension go through her stomach.

"Or do we fight?" Ken finished.

Minato took the first step. "We try diplomacy first, but we must be ready to treat them as enemies."

**258****th**** Floor**

Jin heard them long before he saw them. SEES made no attempt to hide their presence.

As they ascended the staircase, he named them off in his head, reminding himself of their strengths and weaknesses. They were a diverse bunch, with no aspect left unchecked. Any battle against them would be a tough one, not to mention strength in numbers. He wished Takaya was here with him, or he with his leader, but such was not the doom he had to face.

"I didn't want to believe Takaya when he said you had turned your back on us, Traitor." Despite everything else, he only had eyes for the red haired woman, wearing that fool's coat and hat. "What, did they threaten to take away your pills unless you helped them?" It was a natural assumption.

"No" Chidori said softly. "They never threatened me. Helios is stable and won't kill me." She shifted her grip on her fireman's axe. "I am here of my own free choice."

"Yea!" Midori cheered, only to receive several sharp glances telling her to kindly shut up. "sorry".

"So? What? You think now you can fight Nyx?" Jin dropped the subject of Chidori; he had no more wish to talk to or about her. "Our deaths are inevitable! Why prolong it?"

"What do you know about Nyx?" Fuuka asked from behind Chidori. "How do you know what it does?"

"Oh, you can thank that idiot Ikutsuki. Takaya got a hold of some of his personal files before we left. A real piece of work, that madman. What with him being your boss and making us into Persona users." He gave a beat to enforce the impact of his taunt. "Oh wait! I'll bet your sweet little princess didn't tell you?"

Mitsuru shuddered at the implication. "Projects to artificially induce Personas." She couldn't help it, she turned to look at Midori and Chidori, the two victims of Ikutsuki's madness that she knew best. They humanized the failings she had to make amends for. "I know of those crimes. They are mine to shoulder, not for anyone else."

Jin was eager to keep the conversation flowing. The longer they stood here yapping, the longer Takaya would have to get ahead of them, and the less time they had to enact whatever plan they had to delay Nyx's arrival. "Some crimes can't be atoned for. How many kids do you think were killed because of your family?"

"Every last one was one too many!" Mitsuru spat back. "Look at you! Crying here about all those who couldn't make it. You, who would betray them by letting Takaya have his way? Do you think that all their sacrifices would mean anything if the world Falls?"

"HOW DARE YOU!" Jin roared as he pulled a grenade out from his own jacket. "What do you know of such things?"

"I know better than you! I value those around me! I don't cast them aside!" Mitsuru was full of livid anger, echoing the emotions from Jin. "What about you? Haven't you been cast aside by Takaya as well? Why isn't he with you? Or does he not care about you so long as he gets to meet his god?"

"You can't fool me! You're just like the rest of them! You don't know what we've gone through!"

Midori wanted to jump in, wanted to say that she knew, but couldn't. For once her words failed her, even though she would justify it later as letting Mitsuru fight her own battles. No, the truth of the matter was that she _wanted_ a fight to happen. Wanted to prove the worth of her cause through battle as nothing else would matter.

"I do." Mitsuru said quietly. "I know loss."

Jin replied by flicking the pin on the grenade. It clattered to the floor. "Don't lie to me! Nothing you say is going to matter when the Fall occurs! All your petty words mean nothing!"

"Midori! Koro! Chidori! With me!" Minato yelled, drawing in the team members who could ignore all the fire Jin would use. For a moment he was worried that Chidori wouldn't raise her weapon against him, but a flash of an axe being thrown past him to hit the grenade in the air before being pulled back on its chain absolved him of his worries.

The battle was very short as the rest of SEES pulled back to avoid getting in the crossfire. Jin was hard pressed, even more so when he realized that half his abilities and attacks did nothing to those arrayed against him. He fell to Minato as he placed his sword against Jin's throat. "Talk" he commanded. "Why? Why all the hate?"

"Kirijo! That bastard and Ikutsuki! When they found out about Tartarus they rounded up kids who were living on the streets! They forced Personas out of them! So they could explore Tartarus for them, the sick bastards." He spat at Mitsuru's feet. "But the Persona's were wild! We needed special medications to keep them in check! Of all of us, only three made it out!"

Minato sheathed his sword, then walked past Jin towards the staircase leading higher up. It was an unspoken signal for the rest of them, though Chidori hung back, watching as the rest waited for her to join them.

She knelt beside Jin as though to say something when he roughly grabbed her by the shoulder and threw her towards the stairs behind him. His eyes were locked on the endless wave of Shadows emerging from the depths of Tartarus to greet Nyx and destroy the intruders. "Go! You have something to prove? Prove it!" He regained his feet not facing those who had bested him. "Takaya saved me with his words. Maybe he'll do the same for you."

Akihiko swore at the oncoming horde. "Dammit! We wasted too much time here. We have to go! Now!"

"Jin!" Chidori yelled as Midori pulled her up the stairs. "Come on! I want you to see the sunrise tomorrow!"

Jin's response was to reach into his briefcase of explosives, and pull the last string. A wave of pins emerged, and he charged into the mass of Shadows.

Chidori screamed as he died, the pain at loosing another ally, another friend from a different life slicing to her core. Yukari helped Midori pull her up as the stairs began to crumble under them.

Then they were safe. For now. Takaya and Ryoji still stood between them and Nyx, even as Chidori sobbed, unable to let go of the last words she tried to tell him, the love she tried to give to him to make him see that there was more to life than what they saw.

**259****th**** Floor**

After a moment's silence in respect, or to simply catch their breaths, they started to climb again. Even Chidori, once she had managed to regain her feet, was eager to put as much distance between her and the delayed horde of Shadows that chased them. She spared no further time to grieve for Jin, for as she ran with the others, she found that there was nothing left in her heart to ask her to mourn.

It was like he wasn't a friend, even at the end. There was nothing connecting them any more. She just... didn't miss him.

Looking around, she realized that the only ones she would miss from around her were Koromaru – the dog being a loyal companion while she stayed at the Dorm, and Midori – the impossible girl just refusing to stop until she had pried her way into everyone's life one way or the other, and had been the first to get into Chidori's shell after Junpei had gone away.

Jin's words got to her though. It was true that she hadn't taken her medication in two months, her Persona, her Helios a stable and _normal_ persona that didn't want to try and kill her at any moment. Junpei had sacrificed himself to save her, to give her not only a chance at life, but _life itself_ by creating in her a new existence that did not want to destroy her. Such a precious thing, that.

And they couldn't do that for Jin, or for Takaya. Who would sacrifice themselves for them? One for the other? No, that was no longer possible, and both thought that life without Persona was a life not worth living. It was a horrid thing. Perhaps the mysterious Igor who helped Minato and Midori?

She knew nothing of that, but as Jin's actions ran through her head, she realized that in the end, they [i]didn't[/i] want to be saved. Strega had chosen death, and to take the world with them rather than fight for that one more precious day. You could not save those who didn't want to be saved.

But in the end, even a single solitary connection, was that not enough to desire to keep on living? She had it, and they didn't. And that was difference between them and her. She had something worth fighting for, worth living for.

She barely noticed as they ascended another floor.

**262****nd**** Floor**

Takaya lounged against a random protrusion in the room. The mass of footfalls below him told him that Jin had failed to slow them down, the pitiful fools who thought to delay or prevent the end of the world.

He had no doubt that they would kill him too. No matter how many times he played the options over in his head, he knew that there were simply too many of them to do it. He couldn't even be sure he could kill even one, with his revolver only having one bullet left.

Although he was certain there was one person he could kill when it came down to it. Although that was a resort best saved for last.

They arrived, and he nodded in greeting, not blocking their path towards the top of the tower. Not in any physical sense. They would still have to deal with him before they could ascend.

"The top? Is it up there?" Yukari asked as she watched Takaya carefully.

"Indeed." He answered. "I'm not stopping you. I don't think I'd need to, either." He saw Chidori was with them, and sighed in despair. "Hello again, Chidori. I wish it could have been under better circumstances, but the frivolous bonds of fate seem to have had something else in mind. Tell me, what is it that you seek? You know well the futility of your cause."

Chidori refused to answer him, perhaps because she felt she had no answer worth giving. Instead, it was Akihiko who stepped up to respond. "It is because fighting is the only thing we can do."

"Such ignorance. You can no more turn back the Fall than you can turn back the tides." Takaya gestured wildly with his revolver. "The world will end, and yet you force yourself to go against the dictates of the people? You waste your energy! Why?"

"When the world ends, will it be because we asked for it?" Minato questioned firmly. "No. We never asked for this. We never asked for the Dark Hour, Personas, Nyx or even yourself. But here we are, because we are being given over to things that are not of our own creation. We must challenge them. We must dissent."

Takaya was very dismissive. "Words. Just words. You yourselves acted to bring all this about, and now you seek to undo your greatest deeds? Answer me that, if you can!"

"Because of life." Chidori finally said, knowing deep down that Takaya would not be satisfied until she spoke. "Nyx is nothing but a dream, a passing of faint desire for sleep. I learned otherwise. What you want, Takaya, is selfish, petty and cruel. You refuse to accept your fate and like a child, you seek to destroy everything that you can't control."

As she made her accusations, the confidence in her voice grew. Takaya stood straighter, as though the heat of her words gave him strength. "When you killed Junpei, I was ready to die for him, but he took that choice out of my hands. You want Nyx because you want to die, you want the Fall because you can't stand being alone in your self-hatred. I can't do that any more. I can't hate, I'm all out of it. I just want to live. My life. Not yours."

Takaya let any further words he would say drop from his mind. "Fool." He raised his pistol and watched as the children scattered for cover, save those who were either tasked with fighting him, or were unafraid of his weapon.

Minato, Aigis, Akihiko and Mitsuru encircled Takaya, Midori and Chidori standing farther back. "Give it up Takaya," Minato said, his weapon undrawn, but still at hand. "Put down your Evoker and gun, and we can pass in peace."

"Peace? Fools! Ignorant plebes!" Takaya ranted as he spun to face those around him. "You can have your peace when Nyx gives it to you!"

It was the betrayal that hurt him the most. Not the swords and punches and powers they wielded, but the force of Chidori's rejection of the truth of the world. He couldn't make her see even as she stood behind the circle of combat, the depths of their contamination far too much for him to overcome in the scant time they had left.

Their victory here was assured, and all that was left was to push his body to it's limit before its time came.

And it came when he dropped to one knee, avoiding a vicious punch from the pale-haired boxer. His Evoker clattering to the ground, Takaya finally letting the ravages of his body take him as he fell to the floor, defeated.

"Go on. Life is but a delusion. What you so desire is unattainable." Ken kicked the gun away for good measure, leaving Aigis to pick it up. "All you do is struggle in vain."

"No, we do not." Minato said as he watched Aigis reduce Takaya's weapons to scrap metal.

"Yes!" He tried to laugh, but the dying man could only cough. "Everything you have ever done has been to call forth Nyx! Her coming is the will of the people!"

Midori wanted to kick him in the side, but refrained, as that is not what Heroes do. "You're the idiot. People want to live. And they do everything in their power to stay alive. Only those who have given up, or can't think for themselves would want what you want."

"And yet you agree with me! How delightful!" Midori turned her back on him, her body language saying she had nothing more to say as she felt she had made her point. "People don't think! They are plebes, out to do only what others tell them, those with power! Well, Nyx is their cry for salvation!"

"I do not believe you." Aigis stated, "Your worldview is the result of a mistake, a result of the way you were taken advantage of by the Kirijo group and Ikutsuki." Mitsuru glared at Aigis, not pleased with the accusations made against her company, but unwilling to argue against it here and now.

"... What do you know of this world?"

"That those who live only for themselves cannot call themselves people." Aigis looked upwards with finality. "We are done here. Ryoji-san awaits above."

Nodding their agreement, the Team left the beaten Takaya behind. As they walked away, he shouted at them impotently. "There is nothing you can do! Nyx is almighty! It is the will of humanity!"

The silence of death was the only reply he got.

**263****rd**** floor**

"We've only got thirty minutes left in the hour." Midori flipped close her COMP, notifying everyone of the time left. "Next stop, top of the tower, things man were not meant to know, HEROISM and GLORY!"

"Thanks, Midori." Ken said as he pulled himself to his feet. They had rested for a little bit, the fights against Jin and Takaya being so close together meant they had all agreed to wait five minutes for a breather.

And now they had no more time to waste.


	26. The Dark Hour to The End of the World

**The Top of Tartarus**

They came to the top, finding their way into the night that created the Dark Hour. It was magnificent, the pillars that reached up to support the heavens and the moon large in the sky. Black and white stones inlaid into everything in a mesmerizing pattern.

But they had no eyes for that. The Team spread around, looking at the heights to which they had ascended.

"Done higher" Midori said as she peeked over the side, looking down at the world below. "Hey Aigis. 15 feet per floor on average. 264 floors below us. How high is that?"

"1.207012 kilometers." The response was instant.

"Well, I can tell you that we're a _lot_ higher than that. Look." She pointed down.

They gathered around, and Akihiko let out a low whistle. "That's... amazing. We knew Tartarus defied physics, but this is something else."

"Based on parallax and trigonometry, I would place our altitude at closer to 50 kilometres." Aigis stated. "Don't fall."

"Hello." Ryoji Mochizuki's voice came from behind them. "Thank you for coming."

They turned as one, and saw the Avatar of Nyx, and Minato spoke. "Thank you for the invitation, Ryoji."

"Is that really you?" Yukari asked, her fingers tightening around her bow.

What stood before them was tall, higher than any shadow before them. A black masculine figure draped in the darkness of night and slumber, feathered wings which let through the moonlight like stars. There was something fundamentally _wrong_ with it, an indescribable sense of inhumanity. It spoke with a voice that came from no human throat. "That was my name, for a time. A pleasant time. I didn't mind it. I do not mind if you address this existence by that name, instead of my title."

"What's going on?" Mitsuru demanded of the harbinger of the Fall.

"I am, as you see me. A herald of Nyx's arrival, her avatar on this world. Nyx and Ryoji are one and the same. My presence is her presence."

"Is that so?" Akihiko smiled, pounding one hand into the other. "They I don't regret my decision at all. I'll fight you to the end!"

"I thank you. You know what your choice entails? What the measure of that you fight is?"

Silence.

"I see. You must already know? I am that which people fear the most, what they try to ignore above all else. That is the truth of my, or our existence."

"Death." Aigis said.

"We know that. We knew who you were." Ken said as he leaned on his pike, the image in his head of the last moment of Shinji's life.

"Yea, we all do." Akihiko admitted.

"You are that which awaits all life." Mitsuru. "From the moment they are born into the world."

"You are not a hunter unbeknownst to his prey." Chidori quoted.

"And yet you resist. Even though you are aware of the futility of your actions." Ryoji paused. "There must be fear in our hearts."

"Completely." Yukari said quietly. "I'm afraid. So much so. But I'm still here. I can't run."

"Living means fighting." Midori said. "Not fighting for such petty things like food or shelter or power, but fighting the impossible to make it real." Her thoughts turned back to the last time she had saved the world. "You're nothing special. Nothing new. Anyone who has overcome themselves in times of trial has already beaten you."

"I will stop you!" Fuuka yelled out. "I have nothing to fight with, but I will fight none the less."

"I see." Ryoji sounded almost pleased by this. "Then let your strength be your guide!" He pulled back his massive sword, a mockery of the one in Minato's hand.

Chidori snapped around. "The Shadows! They're almost here."

Mitsuru snapped out some quick orders. "Fuuka! Hold the middle! Everyone not fighting Ryoji keep the Shadows at bay! We can't afford to lose!"

Midori found herself on anti-Shadow watch while Minato, Akihiko, Aigis, Chidori and Mitsuru went after Nyx directly.

"The moment man devoured the fruit of knowledge, he sealed his fate...entrusting his future to the cards, man clings to a dim hope. Yes, the Arcana is the means by which all is revealed. Attaining one's dream requires a stern will and unfailing determination." The Avatar intoned as the battle began.

"Our will and determination are all that stands between us and the false fate of the likes of you! We'll have nothing we haven't earned by our hands alone!" Minato argued with the force that he harboured for most of his life.

Behind them, Midori had somehow taken charge of the defence thorough no fault of her own. She was in the middle of it, one hand wrapped around Black Frost's card, and the other gripping her club with all the force she cold muster. "Blitzkrieg! Bufudyne! Agidyne!" She cared not for any conservation of her strength. She recognized a final battle when she saw one, and knew that as much as she wanted to beat up Nyx, this wasn't her victory to be had. She'd get one eventually.

"The silent voice within one's heart whispers the most profound wisdom." "But wisdom is only wise when it is shared! No one lives or exists alone."

And she was having _fun_. More fun than anything else. Here was purity of action and conflict that she lived for. She knew what the evil was and how to fight it. It was a simple world, one that she could live in the rest of her days.

"Celebrate life's grandeur...its brilliance...its magnificence!" "Then why are you here?!"

"Midori! Fall back!" Fuuka's voice was completely ignored. "These next shadows are immune to Agi and Bufu!"

"Only courage in the face of doubt can lead one to the answer." "We know. That's why we're here. To face our doubts head on."

She felt a rough hand grab her by the shoulder and yank her back, Yukari pulling her to safety before she could realize the danger she was in. She fell back where Fuuka helped drag her back away from the oncoming Shadows that she could do little against. "Rest up, I'll let you know when you can go back in."

"It is indeed a precious gift to understand the forces that guide oneself." "Are you talking about Fate? What fate brought you here? None!"

Gulping down the drink to restore her energy, Midori climbed back to her feet, ready to leap back into the fray. Fuuka held her back. "Go get Chidori out of there and back to me!" She pointed back to where the ones tasked with fighting the avatar of Nyx were protecting a kneeling and injured Chidori. Midori nodded, and ran into the fight, grabbed her and pulled her out into safety, paying forward the earlier rescue. Fuuka went to helping her as Midori jumped into the fight again.

"There is both joy and wonder in coming to understand another." "Then have the joy of understanding us, and our desires!"

She didn't have an appreciation for just how big Ryoji had become in his form of the Avatar of Nyx. Her only measure of comparison was against some of the bigger Bel's she had fought, and they were nearly tiny compared to what she faced now. How were they supposed to stop it?

"One of life's greatest blessings is the freedom to pursue one's goals." "Our goal is to live! Why would you deny us this?"

How long had she been fighting? Her arms were getting sore, and she could feel the ache in her heart that came with over exerting ones magical attacks. But the enemy was in front of her, and she wouldn't give up. Heroes never gave up!

"To find the one true path, one must seek guidance amidst uncertainty." "Of what use is guidance in a world of sleep and death?"

If Ryoji seemed to tire, he did not show it. But she had faced down the Babel itself, and that thing was even more alien and incomprehensible than Ryoji. She ducked under a stately swing of his sword, then smacked her wand against his hand, hoping to cause him to drop it. He didn't.

"It requires great courage to look at oneself honestly, and forge one's own path." "We are brave!"

Akihiko fell back to be replaced by Ken. Midori noted this as a simple fact, focused as she was on the fight in front of her. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Alongside time exists fate, the bearer of cruelty." "And with time comes new joys, new experiences, new feelings!"

Midori braced herself as a wave of wind came rushing, smashing into everyone. She lost consciousness.

"Only with strength can one endure suffering and torment." "This is our strength!"

Minato was the only one whose strength remained unflagging. He saw those who were down, those who were still up, and knew this battle was reaching its end point, one way or the other.

"In the face of disaster lies opportunity for renewal." "WE'RE STILL HERE!"

Midori opened her eyes, roaring her life back into her bones. A clatter of plastic as her COMP fell out of her pocket and opened on the ground.

12:00... it blinked once, twice, then changed.

"The moment man devoured the fruit of knowledge, he sealed his fate...entrusting his future to the cards, man clings to a dim hope. Yet, the Arcana is the means by which all is revealed. Beyond the beaten path lies the absolute end. It matters not who you are. **Death awaits you.**"

12:01.

Out of time.

**Top Floor, The Hills  
****Tokyo  
****The End****  
**

He established his connection to the Babel Server, exercising his power for a goal that would not violate the dictates of Metatron or his council.

The World would end with the end of the Dark Hour, this much Naoya had told him, and he knew this to be true. With inhuman senses, he felt the pressure being put forth by Nyx and he smiled, knowing that this little bit would be all he could do. He couldn't do it perfectly, but every little bit helped, right?

The King of Bel flipped closed his own COMP, the message sent. He wondered if Midori would see it in time.

**Top Floor, Tartarus  
****Tatsumi Port Island  
****The End****  
**

The world shifted and lurched for a moment, and Midori watched as her COMP stopped measuring the passage of time again. Something was different.

_beep_ New Message.

Ignoring the pitched battle around her, Midori picked up her COMP and opened the e-mail.

**FROM**: A-Bel  
**TO**: Dolly  
**RE**: help

_You like? You need the time to fight, and the Dark Hour is limited. So... I made it unlimited. Until the battle is over, I will keep the Dark Hour going for you. There may be some... hiccups, but I'll work to smooth them over._

_Fight!_

_I believe in you!_

Midori smiled, tears of joy streaming down her face. Then she laughed. A joyful tone that contrasted with everything that had happened this evening. Standing, she left her COMP behind. Pointing her weapon at Nyx, she proclaimed in her best voice. "Confused? The Dark Hour won't end until we say so! Bring your death! Bring your Fall! Bring your sleep! Nothing happens without our permission! Without our desire nothing changes! We are alive! That's all that matters!"

She rejoined the battle, bringing all the power she and Frosty could bear against Nyx.

The final stage of the battle was one of grandiose endurance. Human and Avatar pushing each other to the limits of their existence. Spell and Sword, Persona and Tarot brought to bear against each side, nothing left to hold back later for.

It was Nyx that collapsed first.

Heaving breath, Mitsuru gasped out her desire. "Did we...? Were we victorious?"

"No..." Yukari whispered as Ryoji/Nyx pulled itself up.

"Such a pity." His voice gained a more distinct female reverberation. "Fate. You understand it. Yet you still fight with all your strength." The Avatar of Nyx pulled itself higher. "If only more humans were like you, then perhaps the impossible would occur, and the Fall would have been prevented." He paused, as though regretting what words came next. "I will miss you."

The world began to die.

Pure power rolled off Nyx, pushing them back with implacable motion.

Far below, Takaya smiled. He had held on long enough, and now Nyx was upon them. He died happy.

At the top of the world, the universe blinked under the pressure, and the Team were forced to their knees. They tried to fight, but the power of Nyx itself was too much. "I will never give up!" Aigis proclaimed as Minato fell. Her Orgia Mode exploded into action, but instantly shorted. This was not a battle she could win through force.

"No! I! Will! STAND!" Chidori yelled as Junpei's hat was dragged from her head.

"You've made your mind up!" Yukari reminded herself of her promise to her father, the drive that carried her through these past couple months.

Midori grinned like a maniac. This was their darkest hour! This was the moment of their truth! All she had to do was re-gain her feet and victory would open itself up to them!

Nyx cared nothing for these things.

**The Velvet Room**

Igor waited, as he always did, flanked by his two assistants. Behind him, the motion of the Velvet Room's current configuration shone bands of light and dark on his guest.

"Have we failed?" Minato asked, the heartbreak physical.

"No. There's no need to worry. This is not the afterlife."

The Velvet Room stopped.

"Even now, there is still time."

**Port Island**

Chaos reigned.

An impossible world confronted the people. Green hues and a monstrous tower rose above them.

They gathered at the Shrine, and prayed for their salvation, their hearts connected by the fickle bonds of humanity, the thin strings that play across all mankind. Hope lifted them up.

**The Velvet Room**

"Do you remember? What I told you when you first came here?" Minato shook his head.

"I told you that the Social Links you crafted, the people you met, they will determine your potential." Igor leaned forward. "Tell me. Do you hear them? Their voices?"

Minato nodded.

"Each of them, their power is limited. Yet they all reach out to you. Even the ones you cannot hear. The feelings they give will be the source of your victory."

Minato nodded, and opened himself up to the voices of The Universe.

"Our contract is fulfilled. My role is completed. You were a most wonderful guest." Igor bid Minato farewell for the first and final time.

**Tartarus**

Minato stood, unaffected by Nyx. Just as she was beyond them, he was now beyond her. He understood.

Lifted up by humanity's will, he ascended to seal Nyx away.

**Somewhere Else**

Midori opened her eyes. A sky full of beautiful stars surrounded her, all around, above and below. A blue and golden butterfly flitted below her and she waved a bit in greeting.

"Where are we?" Fuuka asked, "I can't sense... anything."

Rolling over, Midori made her announcement. "We're safe." She looked around and accounted for everyone except Minato, standing as they were on a floor of white marble which was itself circles with white pillars in a style she couldn't quite put a name too. "I think I know whose place this is."

"How do you know that!?" Akihiko demanded of the prone girl.

She stood up, and pointed at the butterfly. "Because he's on our side." As if in response the butterfly landed on her outstretched finger, then vanished.

"This doesn't look like a Velvet Room..." Ken trailed off as he took in the universe around them.

"Wait! Where is he? Where's Minato?" Yukari cried out as she looked around for their missing member.

Fukka closed her eyes and focused. "Everything was taken in by the light... I don't sense him."

"Neither do I" Mitsuru refused to admit defeat, but she didn't know how to move forward.

"No! I refuse to believe that!" Ken said, Koromaru adding an encouraging bark.

"It's... It's a possibility." Mitsuru ignored the apparently oblivious Midori as she tried to come to grips with her own statement. "We came here expecting the possibility."

"Oh, he's not dead." Midori said as she checked her uniform for damage, finding that there were too many new blemishes and damaged sections for her to properly patch up. She would need to get a new one for tomorrow, assuming of course that she couldn't talk people into just taking a personal day.

"Explain, Komaki!" Mitsuru let some of her frustrations out on the slightly cryptic girl.

"He's the Hero, right? Well, we're all heroes, but he's the leader. So naturally he has to make the last battle by himself." She rolled her shoulders, back turned to the rest. "The only thing we can do now is cheer him on."

"YOU HEAR ME MINATO! LOVE AND JUSTICE! LIFE IS NOTHING WITHOUT THEM!" Her scream raised to the heavens and was soon followed by the others.

Following her lead, the others began to cheer into the night. With nothing else to do, their voices and will were the only things left to give.

And their voices were answered. Ryoji spoke with a voice not his own, more human than force. "Do not worry. I will sleep once again. He has spoken his worth, and Nyx... Normal days will return, for you, and for him. He has found his answer to life's questions. It just happened for him sooner than for the rest of you."

"What is Life's Greatest Question?" Aigis demanded, unsure of what was meant. "Tell me, Ryoji!"

"Oh, Aigis. Yours is a long journey. But you too will find the answer in time. You too are a living thing, you just need to realize your own nature."

"So, we win?"

"Yes. The Dark Hour will soon vanish properly. All that was taken will be relinquished. The Miracle of Life will continue."

And The Dark Hour ended.

Life went on.

* * *

A/N

So ends Seven Days Survivor: The Journey.

Thank you all for reading.

The next 'act' in the 7DS story will begin next week with Chapter 1 of "Seven Days Survivor: The Answer". It will be a new story, so please be prepared to flag it appropriately.


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